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VESPUCCI  REPRINTS,  TEXTS  AND  STUDIES 

IV 


THE  SODERINI  LETTER 


IN  TRANSLATION 


VESPUCCI  REPRINTS,  TEXTS  AND  STUDIES 
The  Cyrus  H.  McCormick  Publication  Fund 
of  the  Princeton  University  Library 


The  Vespucci  reprints,  texts  and  studies  had  their  origin  in  the 
gift  to  the  Princeton  University  Library  by  Mr.  Cyrus  H.  McCor- 
mick ’79,  of  Chicago,  of  eight  tracts  relating  to  Vespucci,  purchased 
from  the  Hoe  library. 

Mr.  McCormick’s  attention  was  called  to  the  fact  that  the  Ves- 
pucci problem  is  one  useful  to  set  for  university  students  who  are 
being  trained  for  research  in  American  History,  and  that  for  this 
purpose  the  main  need  is  for  reliable  copies  of  actual  documents, 
originals  being  scarce  and  facsimiles  not  generally  accessible.  On 
this  representation  the  Library  administration  was  authorized  to 
publish  any  of  his  gifts  in  facsimile  and  to  add  to  them  such 
other  basic  documents  as  might  be  useful  and  obtainable,  form- 
ing a convenient  uniform  series  of  documents  for  teaching  or  re- 
search in  unpretentious  form  for  practical  use. 

The  following  numbers  have  been  published  or  are  in  press: 

2.  The  Soderini  letter,  1504;  facsimile. 

3.  The  Soderini  letter,  Florence  manuscript;  facsimile. 

4.  The  Soderini  letter,  Critical  translation  with  introduction  by 
Professor  G.  T.  Northup  of  University  of  Toronto. 

5.  The  Mundus  Novus  or  Medici  letter  translated  by  Professor 
G.  T.  Northup. 

6.  The  Paesi  novamente  retrovati  1508;  facsimile. 

7.  The  Sensuyt  le  nouveau  monde,  1515;  facsimile. 

Provision  has  also  been  made  for  publication  at  an  early  date  of 

other  items  as  follows: 

The  Mundus  Novus  or  Medici  letter,  fasimiles  of  all  editions  of 
the  Latin  text  which  can  be  had  for  reproduction,  together  with  a 
critical  bibliographical  study  of  these  editions  by  George  Parker 
Winship,  Librarian  of  the  Widener  Library  of  Harvard  University. 

The  Von  der  new  gefunden  Region. 

The  Latin  version  of  the  Soderini  letter,  etc. 


AMERIGO  VESPUCCI 
LETTER  TO  PIERO  SODERINI, 

Gonfaloniere.  The  year  1504 


TRANSLATED  WITH  INTRODUCTION  AND  NOTES 


By 

GEORGE  TYLER  NORTHUP 


PRINCETON  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
PRINCETON,  N.  J. 

LONDON : HUMPHREY  MILFORD 
OXFORD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
1916 


Published  November,  1916 


PREFACE 

The  translator  wishes  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness 
to  Dr.  Ernest  C.  Richardson,  Librarian  of  Princeton 
University  Library,  for  much  kindly  assistance  proffered 
in  the  course  of  the  preparation  of  this  work.  To  Dr.  T. 
A.  Moseley  of  the  same  university  he  wishes  to  extend 
thanks  for  much  valuable  advice  with  regard  to  Old 
Italian  forms.  Neither  of  these  gentlemen  is  responsible 
for  whatever  errors  may  be  found  in  the  following  pages. 


AMERIGO  VESPUCCI  LETTER  TO 
PIERO  SODERINI.  INTRODUCTION 

The  Problem 

Amerigo  Vespucci  is  the  most  enigmatic  figure  in  the 
history  of  American  exploration.  Almost  immediately 
after  his  death  critics  began  to  impugn  his  veracity,  and 
brand  him  as  an  impostor ; and  these  attacks  persist  to  the 
present  day.  Another  school  of  historians  took  up  the 
cudgels  in  his  behalf,  seeking  to  justify  his  statements 
and  vindicate  his  reputation.  Many  other  writers,  feel- 
ing that  truth  usually  lies  somewhere  between  two  such 
divergent  attitudes,  prejudiced  neither  for  nor  against 
Vespucci,  eager  only  to  arrive  at  the  truth,  have  dis- 
played the  utmost  ingenuity  in  attempting  to  solve  the 
various  historical  cruces  which  abound  in  the  writings  of 
the  Florentine  navigator.  If  at  the  present  day  little 
progress  has  been  made  toward  the  definitive  solution  of 
many  of  these  points,  the  reason  is  plain.  The  philol- 
ogist no  less  than  the  historian  is  puzzled  by  the  Vespucci 
“Letters” ; yet  no  philologist  has  ever  seriously  grappled 
with  the  problems  in  them.  Vespucci’s  writings  have  had 
a strange  and  complicated  history.  They  have  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  translators,  copyists,  printers,  and  even, 
it  is  to  be  feared,  at  those  of  modern  editors.  The  texts 
on  which  we  base  our  judgments  are  vastly  different 
from  those  which  left  the  author’s  hand.  The  extant 
versions  of  these  must  be  critically  examined,  collated  and 
classified;  critical  texts  must  be  established  before  his- 
torians can  hope  to  form  accurate  judgments  based  upon 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  1 


Vespucci’s  writings.  The  critical  study  of  these  texts  is 
therefore  our  immediate  problem. 

Lest  this  judgment  should  appear  arrogant,  it  is  well 
to  indicate  that  such  a study  has  long  been  a recognized 
need  among  scholars.  Over  a century  ago  Napione  well 
said : “In  order  to  undertake  the  critical  examination  of 
an  author  we  must  ascertain  before  anything  else  whether 
we  possess  texts  which  are  honest  and  devoid  of  corrup- 
tion, which  contain  what  the  author  in  question  has  ac- 
tually thought  and  written.  Whether  in  the  next  place 
he  has  told  or  narrated  the  truth,  that  is  matter  for  an  in- 
vestigation wholly  secondary  and  subsequent.”1  Twenty- 
one  years  ago  these  remarks  were  quoted  with  approval 
by  that  gifted  Italian  geographer,  the  late  Luigi  Hughes, 
one  of  the  most  acute  investigators  who  ever  approached 
the  Vespucci  problem.  Hughes  promised  that  he  would 
himself  undertake  this  philological  study.2  Unfortunately 
he  died  without  having  fulfilled  his  promise.  Uzielli, 
too,28  after  remarking  that  Vespucci’s  reputation  has  suf- 
fered greatly  owing  to  corrupt  texts,  says : “It  has  there- 
fore happened  that  both  foes  and  friends  of  Vespucci 
have  always  based  their  reasoning  upon  erroneous  texts 
of  his  letters,  without  ever  seeking  to  collate  them  with 
the  most  authentic  and  most  ancient  codices;  or  indeed 
if  the  navigator’s  biographers  have  sought  to  make  a 
critical  examination  of  them,  his  very  advocates,  singu- 
lar thing,  commonly  display  a palaeographical  incompe- 

1 Napione,  Esame  critic o del  primo  viaggio  di  Amerigo  Vespucci 

nell’anno  1506.  (1810),  p.  19.  Quoted  by  Hughes. 

2 See  Notizie  e studi  in  connessione  colla  raccolta  pubblicata  dalla 
reale  commissione  colombiana.  (Roma,  presso  la  societd  geografica 
italiana),  1894,  p.  182. 

2a  Bandini,  Vita  di  Amerigo  Vespucci,  (edited  with  commentary 
by  Gustavo  Uzielli,  Florence),  1898.  Uzielli’s  proposed  critical  text 
was  to  be  a companion  volume  to  this. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  2 


tence  as  great  as  their  scorn  toward  the  alleged  forgers 
of  the  codices  is  absurd.”  . . . “This  being  so,  it  is  per- 
fectly superfluous  and  absurd  to  continue  to  argue  about 
Vespucci  before  the  critical  edition  is  published,”  etc. 
After  making  these  judicious  observations,  Uzielli  prom- 
ises such  a critical  text;  but  like  Hughes  he  has  not  yet 
fulfilled  his  promise.  Neither  can  I find  that  any  other 
scholar  has  considered  these  textual  problems  with  the 
requisite  detail  and  thoroughness. 

Scope  of  the  Present  Investigation 
The  present  author  proposes  to  make  such  a study  of 
Vespucci’s  so-called  Soderini  Letter.  This  document  will 
now  be  treated  solely  in  its  philological  aspects.  The 
wider  and  more  interesting  historical  questions  which  it 
raises  must  be  left  to  professional  historians  for  solution. 
My  aim  is  first  to  describe  the  three  extant  versions  in 
which  this  narrative  has  come  down  to  us ; next,  to  work 
out  their  filiation  and  trace  their  descent;  then,  to  state 
the  principles  of  textual  criticism  which  should  be  em- 
ployed in  deciding  between  variant  readings.  After  this 
will  follow  an  English  translation  of  the  Soderini  Letter, 
not  based  like  previous  translations  upon  a single  text, 
but  upon  all  three,  following  the  better  readings  and  sup- 
plying omissions.  If  this  study  should  in  some  slight 
measure  serve  to  clear  the  ground  for  future  workers  in 
the  field,  that  is  all  which  I now  hope  to  accomplish. 

The  Florentine  Print — (P) 

That  one  of  the  versions  which  most  closely  ap- 
proaches the  barbaric  half-Italian,  half-Spanish  jargon  of 
the  original  is  the  sixteenth  century  Italian  Print  which 
I designate  by  the  letter  P.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  it 
is  guilty  of  many  omissions  and  numerous  printer’s  er- 
rors, it  is  on  the  whole  our  most  authentic  version.  This 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  3 


print  is  a small  brochure  of  only  16  folios  (32  pages) 
with  signatures,  but  no  pagination.  It  is  printed  in 
Roman  type  and  is  adorned  with  five  woodcuts.  The 
title-page  bears  the  inscription:  Lettera  di  Amerigo  Ves- 
pucci delle  isole  nuouamente  trouate  in  quattro  suoi 
viaggi.  This  is  a new  title  which  the  original  lacked, 
and  was  chosen  by  the  printer  to  replace  the  original 
dedication  to  the  Gonfaloniere  Piero  Soderini  whose 
name  does  not  appear  either  here  or  later  in  the  text. 
The  format  is  a small  quarto,  measuring  4 x 6^4  inches. 
There  is  no  colophon,  nor  anything  indicating  the  print- 
er’s name  or  the  place  or  year  of  publication.  Hence  it 
cannot  be  dated  precisely. 

Brunet  and  Harrisse  dated  the  little  book  as  late  as 
1516,  because  it  has  been  found  bound  together  with  the 
Corsali  letter  of  Carlo  da  Pavia  (Florence),  1516.  These 
two  letters  are  of  the  same  style  of  printing  and  of  the 
same  size,  but  Harrisse  admits  that  the  paper  is  different. 
This  is  manifestly  insufficient  evidence  to  permit  us  to 
fix  upon  the  date  1516,  and  Harrisse  subsequently  admit- 
ted the  possibility  of  an  earlier  date.  On  the  other  hand, 
Varnhagen’s  copy  was  bound  with  a work  by  St.  Bazile, 
dated  1506.  That  scholar  would  therefore  accept  this 
as  the  date  of  the  print  of  the  Soderini  Letter.  The  most 
searching  bibliographical  study  of  this  matter  is  that 
made  by  M.  K.  who  translated  this  text  for  Mr.  Bernard 
Quaritch.3  As  a result  of  M.  K.’s  researches  we  may 
consider  it  established  that  this  Italian  version  was 
printed  at  Florence,  probably  at  the  expense  of  Pietro 
Pacina  of  Pescia,  by  a certain  printer  named  Gian  Stefano. 

3 The  First  Four  Voyages  of  Amerigo  Vespucci.  Translated  from 
the  rare  original  edition  ( Florence , 1505-6 ) ; with  some  preliminary 
notices  by  M.  K.  (London,  Bernard  Quaritch),  1885.  See  Biblio- 
graphical Note.  See  also  Winsor,  Narrative  and  Critical  History 
of  America,  Vol.  II,  p.  163'. 

The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  4 


A study  of  type  and  format  has  established  this.  M.  K. 
favors  the  year  1505;  Varnhagen  the  year  1506.4  But 
both  M.  K.  and  Varnhagen  are  wrong  in  one  particular. 
Admitting  that  the  Latin  translation  of  15075  derives 
from  an  Italian  source,  it  does  not  follow,  as  both  these 
scholars  hastily  assumed,  that  that  source  was  the  Italian 
print,  P.  As  a matter  of  fact  it  did  not  so  derive,  as 
I shall  later  show.  Therefore  it  is  wrong  to  say  that  P 
must  necessarily  antedate  the  year  1507.  Gian  Stefano 
appears  to  have  set  up  as  an  independent  printer  in  1505, 
and,  as  in  any  case  the  book  cannot  have  been  printed 
before  that  date,  we  may  confidently  take  the  year  1505 
as  a terminus  a quo . We  cannot  safely  determine  a 
terminus  ad  quern.  We  can  only  say  that  the  work  was 
printed  in  1505  or  not  long  after. 

This  print  is  a bibliographical  treasure  of  extreme 
rarity.  Not  more  than  five  copies  at  most  are  known  to 
be  in  existence : first,  that  in  the  British  Museum  Library ; 
second,  that  in  the  Biblioteca  Palatina,  Florence;  third, 
the  copy  formerly  possessed  by  Varnhagen  (present 
whereabouts  unknown),  probably  now  in  Brazil;  fourth, 
that  formerly  belonging  to  the  Marchese  Gino  Capponi 
(present  whereabouts  unknown) ; fifth,  that  presented  to 
the  Princeton  University  Library  by  Mr.  Cyrus  H.  Mc- 
Cormick of  Chicago. 

This  last  copy,  reproduced  in  facsimile  in  another 
volume  of  this  series,  is  worthy  of  detailed  mention. 
Mr.  McCormick  purchased  it  at  the  sale  of  the  library  of 
the  late  Robert  Hoe  of  New  York.  Mr.  Hoe  had  bought 
it  of  the  heirs  of  the  late  Mr.  Charles  Kalbfleisch  of  the 

4 Varnhagen,  Amerigo  Vespucci.  Son  caractere,  ses  ecrits  (mime 
les  moins  authentiques) , sa  vie  et  ses  navigations,  csvec  une  carte 
indiquant  les  routes.  (Lima),  1865,  p.  29. 

“Hylacomylus  (Martin  Waldzeemuller)  Cosmographiae  Introduc- 
tio.  (Saint-Die),  1507. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  5 


same  city.  Mr.  Kalbfleisch  had  obtained  it  from  the  well 
known  London  bookseller,  Mr.  Bernard  Quaritch.  It  is 
fully  described  in  the  Quaritch  catalogue  for  1886.  Mr. 
Quaritch  had  previously  procured  it  at  the  sale  of  the 
library  of  the  late  Dr.  J.  Court,  a Parisian  collector  of 
rare  books.  According  to  Brunet,  Quaritch  paid  £524 
for  it.  Dr.  Court  had  bought  it  of  the  Parisian  bookseller 
Tross,  who  is  known  to  have  possessed  it  some  time  dur- 
ing the  “seventies.”  While  in  the  possession  of  Dr. 
Court,  it  was  bound  together  with  the  Corsali  letter  of 
1516.  Dr.  Court  broke  the  volume  and  bound  the  two 
works  separately.  Happily  these  two  books  have  never 
been  sold  apart.  The  Corsali  print,  too,  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Mr.  McCormick  through  the  same  channels,  and 
was  by  him  generously  presented  to  Princeton  University. 
It  is  impossible  to  trace  with  assurance  the  pedigree  of  the 
Princeton  copy  further  back  than  to  M.  Tross.  But  it  is 
very  plausibly  conjectured  that  our  copy  is  the  same  as 
that  which  was  purchased  for  only  50  pounds  sterling  at 
the  sale  of  Richard  Heber’s  library.  The  catalogue  of 
the  Bibliotheca  Heberiana  tells  us  that  the  Heber  copy, 
too,  was  bound  together  with  the  Corsali  text,  and  had  a 
red  morocco  binding.  Harrisse  mentions  having  seen  a 
copy  of  the  Soderini  Letter  in  the  possession  of 
M.  L’abbe  de  Billy,  “amateur  tres  eclair  e ( superieurement 
relie  en  maroquin  rouge  par  Bozerain) This,  too,  may 
possibly  be  the  same  copy.  The  Princeton  copy  is  uni- 
formly bound  in  crimson  levant  morocco,  tooled  in  a 
Grolieresque  design  of  interlacing  gilt  panels,  relieved  by 
blind  tooling,  doublure  of  blue  levant  morocco  gilt,  silk 
guards,  gilt  edges,  in  a crimson  levant  case  by  Lortic. 

The  Florentine  Print  was  first  reprinted  by  Bandini  in 
1745,  but  Bandini’s  text  is  entirely  untrustworthy.6  The 

0 Bandini,  Vita  e lettere  di  Amerigo  Vespucci  (Florence),  1745. 
A reprint  of  this  work  was  made  in  Florence,  1898  ( Auspice  il 
Comune  pei  tipi  di  S.  Landi.) 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  6 


Brazilian  scholar,  F.  A.  de  Varnhagen,  to  whom  students 
of  Vespucci  are  so  deeply  indebted,  made  in  1865  a laud- 
able attempt  to  give  a strictly  accurate  reprint.7  Unfor- 
tunately, Varnhagen’s  printer  played  him  false,  and  nu- 
merous errors  make  this  a far  from  accurate  text.  Never- 
theless it  is  much  superior  to  Bandini’s.  In  1893  Bernard 
Quaritch  published  a photographic  facsimile  edition,  ac- 
companied by  a translation  of  the  four  voyages.8  The 
copy  thus  reproduced  is  that  now  in  the  Princeton  Li- 
brary. An  American  edition  of  the  Quaritch  facsimile 
appeared  in  the  same  year.9  M.  K.’s  rendering  of  the  P 
version  into  English  is  by  far  the  best  we  have.  It  is 
scholarly  and  of  high  literary  merit.  But  as  the  trans- 
lator did  not  realize  the  importance  of  the  Magliabechiana 
version,  that  manuscript  was  not  consulted,  and  hence 
the  importance  of  the  Latin  text  was  also  underestimated, 
though  some  of  its  variant  readings  were  cited.  As  a 
result,  many  difficulties  of  the  text  remained  unsolved, 
and  numerous  gaps  in  the  narrative  were  left  unsupplied. 
M.  K.’s  translations  of  the  first  and  third  voyages  have 
been  reproduced  in  Appleton’s  Cyclopedia  of  American 
History  (s.  v.  Vespucci),  and  also  in  the  Old  South  Leaf- 
lets (Nos.  34  and  90).  Other  translations  of  the  P 
version  have  been  attempted  by  various  writers,  but  the 

7 Varnhagen,  op.  cit. 

8 The  First  Four  Voyages  of  Amerigo  Vespucci,  Reproduced  in 
Facsimile  with  Translation,  Introduction,  a Map,  and  a Facsimile 
of  a Drawing  by  Stradanus.  (London,  Bernard  Quaritch),  1893.  The 
translation  is  the  same  as  that  previously  published  by  the  same 
publisher  in  1885.  Cited  above. 

9 The  Columbus  Memorial,  containing  the  First  Letter  of  Colum- 
bus Descriptive  of  His  Voyage  to  the  New  World;  The  Latin  Letter 
to  his  Royal  Patrons,  and  a Narrative  of  the  Four  Voyages  of 
Amerigo  Vespucci,  Reproduced  in  Facsimile  from  the  Unique  and 
Excessively  Rare  Originals,  with  Illustrations,  Introductions,  and 
Notes.  Edited  by  George  Young.  (Philadelphia,  Jordan  Bros.),  1893. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  7 


results  are  so  inaccurate  as  to  be  utterly  valueless.  My 
comment  upon  these  would  be  so  severe  that  I prefer  not 
to  mention  their  titles. 

The  Magliabechiana  Ms. — (M) 

The  next  of  the  three  important  extant  versions  of  the 
Soderini  Letter  is  an  Italian  manuscript  now  in  the 
Magliabechiana  Library,  Florence  (No.  15,  class.  3 7, 
cod.  209),  which  I shall  designate  by  the  letter  M.  This 
version,  alone  of  the  three,  appears  to  bear  the  true 
title:  Lettera  di  Amerigo  Vespucci  a Piero  Soderini , 

Gonfaloniere.  L’anno  1504.  At  the  end  occurs  this 
remark:  Copiata  hoggi  questo  di  x di  Febbraio 

MCCCCCIIII  per  me  D.  Lorenzo  di  Piero  Choralmi  da 
Dicomano,  Noto.  fiorentino,  a compiacenza  de’  nostri 
Magci.  Girolamo  di  Nofri  del  Caccia  et  Baldino  Troscia, 
dua  del  numero  de’  nostri  Magci.  et  eccelsi  sigri.  di 
Liberta  del  Populo  Fiorentino  bene  meriti;  A quali  io 
sono  loro  buono  seruidore.  Laus  Deo.  Or  in  English: 
Copied  today  this  tenth  day  of  February,  1504,  by  me 
Don  Lorenzo  di  Piero  Choralmi  da  Dicomano,  Florentine 
notary,  to  oblige  their  Magnificences  Girolamo  di  Nofri 
del  Caccia  and  Baldino  Troscia,  two  of  the  number  of 
our  magnificent  and  exalted  lords,  well  deserving  of  the 
free  people  of  Florence.  Whose  good  servant  I am. 
Praise  be  unto  God. 

As  Vespucci  dated  his  letter  the  tenth  of  September, 
1504,  the  date  here  given  by  Choralmi  would  appear  er- 
roneous to  one  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  the  Florentine 
reckoning  was  one  year  behind  the  true  one.  Choralmi’s 
copy  was  therefore  made  in  1505,  just  five  months  subse- 
quent to  the  dating  of  the  original.  It  was  therefore  a 
very  early  copy. 

But  M is  not  itself  the  original  Choralmi  copy.  The 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  8 


handwriting  is  modern,  probably  that  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  It  is  a later  copy,  either  direct  or  indirect  of  C, 
the  Choralmi  MS.  It  was  this  undoubted  modernity  of 
M which  led  Varnhagen  to  underestimate  its  importance, 
and  later  investigators  may  have  been  led  astray  by  his 
remarks.10  Yet  even  Varnhagen  saw  that  this  MS 
“might  have  a different  source  from  the  printed  copy”; 
and  it  must  have  been  this  MS  which  informed  Bandini 
and  later  Varnhagen  that  Soderini  was  the  man  to  whom 
the  Letter  was  addressed,  and  which  enabled  the  latter  to 
expose  the  falsity  of  the  dedication  of  the  Latin  version 
to  King  Rene  of  Lorraine.  This  information  could  not 
have  been  obtained  from  either  P or  the  Latin.  Vam- 
hagen  even  instanced  one  lacuna  in  P which  M supplied. 
But  in  spite  of  the  great  insight  he  frequently  displayed 
in  other  matters,  the  Brazilian  scholar  was  weak  in  text- 
ual criticism.  To  his  mind  an  undoubtedly  modern  MS 
was  of  no  value  in  helping  to  understand  an  early  six- 
teenth century  version,  and  he  rejected  it  as  of  slight 
importance.  He  would  have  been  justified  in  so  doing 
only  if  M were  a direct  descendant  of  P ; but  that  this  was 
not  the  case  even  Varnhagen  dimly  recognized.  He  may 
have  been  influenced,  though  we  are  far  from  accusing 
him  of  disingenuousness,  by  the  fact  that  M like  the  Latin 
has  the  reading  Parias  instead  of  Lariab  (P).  Inasmuch 
as  so  large  a part  of  Varnhagen’s  argument  was  based 
upon  the  assumed  correctness  of  the  latter  reading,  the 
M reading  would  have  been  very  disturbing  to  his  theory. 

Nevertheless,  M is  a historical  source  of  the  first  im- 
portance. Though  modern,  it  perpetuates  a very  early 
copy  (C),  earlier  probably  than  P,  and  frequently  pre- 
serves the  correct  tradition  where  the  nearly  contem- 
porary P goes  astray.  It  is  invaluable  in  aiding  to  deter- 

10  Varnhagen,  op.  cit.,  p.  30. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  9 


mine  the  relationship  between  P and  the  Latin  version, 
to  decide  which  of  these  two  is  right  when  they  diverge. 
It  also  greatly  enhances  the  importance  of  the  Latin, 
proving  that  many  passages  in  the  latter  version  which 
had  been  thought  to  be  interpolations  belonged  in  the 
original.  Varnhagen  was  correct  in  saying  that  the 
language  of  P is  far  closer  to  the  original  than  is  that 
of  M.  The  M scribe  (or  possibly  the  scribe  Choralmi  or 
both)  has  substituted  good  Italian  equivalents  for  many 
of  the  characteristic  Spanish  forms  of  the  original.  But 
Varnhagen  failed  to  notice  that  M preserves  a few  of 
these  which  P in  turn  had  italianized.  A process  of 
italianization  is  therefore  observable  in  P likewise. 
M also  lacks  many  of  the  mechanical  errors  in  P due  to 
the  process  of  printing. 

The  M MS  consists  of  26  folios,  the  narrative  ending 
on  26  recto.  The  written  portion  of  each  page  measures 
4x9  inches.  The  hand  is  eighteenth  century,  clear,  and 
legible,  with  very  few  abbreviations  to  be  solved.  The 
scribe  has  had  difficulty  with  many  of  the  Spanish  words 
which  he  failed  to  understand.  There  are  in  it  a number 
of  omissions  supplied  by  the  other  versions,  but  fre- 
quently M supplies  deficiencies  in  the  others.  M has 
no  interpolations.  In  spite  of  its  modernity,  then,  it  is 
as  useful  an  instrument  in  reconstructing  the  original 
text  as  either  of  the  others. 

The  Hylacomylus  Version — (H) 

Martin  Waldzeemiiller’s  famous  Cosmo graphiae  In- 
troductio  was  printed  at  Saint-Die,  Lorraine,  on  the  25th 
of  April,  1507,  and  contained  a Latin  translation  of  the 
Soderini  Letter,  based  upon  a previous  translation  of 
that  work  from  the  Italian  into  the  French.  It  is  gener- 
ally referred  to  briefly  as  the  Hylacomylus  version. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  10 


Hylacomylus  was  the  classic  name  assumed  by  Wald- 
zeemiiller  in  his  scholarly  writings.  The  Cosmo graphiae 
Introductio  enjoyed  an  immense  European  vogue.  It 
passed  through  several  editions,  and  was  retranslated,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  into  many  of  the  vernaculars.  The  H 
version  was  therefore  the  form  in  which  for  many  years 
the  Soderini  letter  was  known  to  scholars,  while  the  docu- 
ment in  its  Italian  form  lapsed  into  oblivion,  and  there  re- 
mained until  Bandini  came  forth  with  his  faulty  reprint 
in  1745.  The  Latin  text  of  the  1507  edition  of  H is  most 
conveniently  to  be  consulted  in  Varnhagen’s  reprint.11 

Just  as  Varnhagen  failed  to  appreciate  the  importance 
of  the  M version,  so,  too,  he  failed  to  understand  the 
value  of  H.  By  revindicating  the  importance  of  P, 
Varnhagen  rendered  a conspicuous  service;  but  in  his 
enthusiasm  for  P he  wrongly  refused  to  recognize  the 
importance  of  the  other  texts,  M and  H.  It  is  unpleas- 
ant to  insist  so  strongly  upon  the  faults  of  method  ob- 
served in  the  work  of  so  deserving  a scholar;  but  it  is 
necessary  to  do  so  when  subsequent  scholars,  John  Fiske 
for  example,  have  taken  so  many  of  his  statements  on 
trust.  Here  is  what  Varnhagen  says  of  H : “A  con- 
scientious method  would  reject  this  version  (H),  and 
brush  aside  also  the  German  translations,  which  proceed 
all  from  the  same  source,  and  not  from  the  original  text 
(P,  as  he  considers)  to  which  as  we  have  said,  we  shall 
hold  strictly  in  the  following  pages.”12  Now,  Vam- 

11  Op.  Cit.  A good  facsimile  edition  of  the  Cosmographic  Intro- 
ductio has  been  published  by  the  United  States  Catholic  Historical 
Society,  Monograph  IV : The  Cosmographic  Introductio  of  Martin 
WaldseemiUler  in  facsimile.  Followed  by  the  four  voyages  of 
Amerigo  Vespucci , with  their  translation  into  English  (ed.  Fischer, 
Von  Wieser,  Herbermann,  New  York),  1907. 

“ Varnhagen,,  Le  premier  voyage  de  Amerigo  Vespucci,  op.  cit., 
p.  2. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  11 


hagen’s  fundamental  error  is  that  he  considers  that  H 
had  P as  an  ancestor,  passing,  of  course,  through  the 
French.  This  assumption  is  false,  as  can  be  shown  by 
the  collation  of  M and  P with  it.  Even  without  the  help 
of  M,  which  Varnhagen  had  read,  we  could  easily  prove 
that  H and  P have  different  lines  of  descent  and  there- 
fore should  be  used  to  correct  one  another.  Varnhagen 
is  right  in  saying  that  the  descendants  of  H are  value- 
less for  purposes  of  collation;  but  with  regard  to  H,  he 
assumed  without  careful  investigation  that  this  version, 
which  he  knew  to  have  been  printed  in  1507,  necessarily 
sprang  from  the  Italian  Print  (P)  which  he  flattered 
himself  with  having  proved  to  have  been  printed  in  1 506. 
Varnhagen  deserves  credit  for  his  easy  refutation  of 
Napione’s  absurd  theory  that  H was  the  original,  and  P 
a translation  of  H.  Of  course,  we  have  an  a priori  dis- 
trust of  a version  which  is  a translation  of  a translation. 
A document  with  such  a history  is  sure  to  contain  much 
error.  Nevertheless,  if  it  has  a distinct  ancestry,  it  may 
here  and  there  be  correct  even  against  versions  which 
have  never  been  translated  out  of  the  original.  That  this 
is  true  with  regard  to  H our  investigation  will  show. 

But  is  it  true  that  H is  a translation  out  of  the  French 
into  the  Latin  and  that  the  French  version,  now  lost,  goes 
back  to  an  Italian  source?  We  find  in  H this  statement: 
quattur  (sic)  subiungentur  nauigationes  ex  Italico  ser- 
mone  in  Gallicum  & ex  gallico  in  latinum  verse.  There 
is  no  reason  for  doubting  this  plain  statement,  but  let  us 
test  it  in  connection  with  what  internal  evidence  we  can 
find  in  H. 

The  best  evidence  that  H does  go  back  to  an  ultimate 
Italian  source  is  afforded  by  two  geographic  names  which 
appear  in  Italian  rather  than  in  Latin,  French,  Spanish, 
or  Portuguese  form : Serra-Liona  and  Li  Azori.  These 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  12 


two  words  alone  prove  the  point,  but  a study  of  the 
translators’  blunders  clinches  it.  Where  P and  M cor- 
rectly have  the  word  capanna,  “cabin,”  “hut,”  H has 
several  times  erroneously  substituted  campana,  “bell.” 
Such  a confusion  between  Italian  capanna  and  campana 
is  natural;  there  could  have  been  no  like  confusion  be- 
tween the  corresponding  French  words:  cabanc  and 
cloche , sonnette , grelot,  or  any  other  word  for  “bell”  in 
that  tongue.  Hence  this  blunder  must  be  ascribed  to 
some  intermediary  translator,  not  to  the  one  who  turned 
the  Soderini  Letter  into  Latin.  A very  similar  instance 
is  afforded  by  the  name  Cape  Verde  which  curiously 
enough  appears  in  H as  Green  Field  ( Campus  Viridis). 
This  is  clearly  due  to  a confusion  between  Italian  capo 
and  campo.  A misplaced  tilde  would  account  for  this 
and  the  preceding  blunder.  Such  a confusion  could  not 
arise  between  the  French  words  cap  and  champ.  This 
mistake  occurs  in  H no  less  than  six  times.  These  er- 
rors, again,  must  be  ascribed  to  an  intermediary  trans- 
lator. Additional  evidence  of  an  intermediary  version 
is  afforded  by  the  fact  that  where  M and  P have  a Latin 
phrase : Quo  modocumque  sit , we  have  corresponding  to 
it  in  H : Utcumque  tamen  sit.  Now,  if  the  first  phrase 
had  not  been  translated  into  some  vernacular,  the  Latin 
author  would  simply  have  retained  it. 

We  have  now  proved  amply  that  the  H version  goes 
back  to  an  ultimate  Italian  original  through  some  inter- 
mediary version,  but  was  this  latter  French?  We  can 
hardly  doubt  that  such  was  the  case.  In  one  instance 
Italian  suolo,  “soil,”  “ground,”  appears  in  H as  Phoebus, 
“sun.”  Now,  a French  translator  would  hardly  have 
rendered  suolo  by  soleil.  He  should  be  acquitted  of  this 
blunder.  He  doubtless  correctly  rendered  suolo  by  sol. 
and  French  sol  suggested  Latin  sol  with  its  different 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  13 


meaning  to  the  Latin  translator.  For  this  he  substituted 
a poetic  synonym:  Phoebus.  On  the  other  hand,  where 
we  find  in  H ursis,  “bears,”  corresponding  to  Italian 
lonze , “leopards,”  I do  not  believe  that  the  Latin  trans- 
lator was  at  fault.  If  the  n were  misread  for  a u,  lonze 
might  suggest  ours  or  ourse  to  a Frenchman;  in  which 
case  the  / would  be  mistaken  for  the  definite  article. 
There  are  other  mistakes  whose  origin  is  not  so  clear. 
Italian  costa , “coast,”  is  three  times  mistranslated  collis, 
“hill,”  in  H ; but  as  Italian  costa  and  French  cote  both 
have  the  double  meanings  “coast”  and  “hill,”  it  is  im- 
possible to  say  in  which  of  the  languages  the  error  origi- 
nated. Again,  ci  peso  motto  absurdly  appears  in  H as 
credimus , “we  believed.”  Was  Italian  pesare  confused 
with  Italian  pensare,  or  French  peser  with  French  penser ? 

This  investigation  seems  to  me  to  confirm  fully  the 
assertion  of  Hylacomylus  with  regard  to  the  provenience 
of  H.  We  may  consider  it  established  that  the  Latin 
version  is  a translation  of  a translation,  deriving  through 
a lost  French  version  from  an  Italian  original,  which  we 
shall  show  is  different  from  that  of  either  P or  M.  The 
Latin  rendering  has  been  variously  ascribed  to  Jean  Basin 
de  Sendacour  and  to  Ringmann  (Philesius),  both  mem- 
bers of  the  Saint-Die  group.  Lud  states  in  his  Speculum 
Orbis  that  Basin  made  the  Latin  rendering,  and  that  the 
French  version  came  to  Rene  from  Portugal  direct. 

As  might  be  supposed,  H contains  more  errors  than 
either  P or  M.  It  shows  the  errors  of  several  copyists, 
those  of  two  translators,  those  of  the  printer,  and  also  a 
few  departures  from  literalness  due  to  the  Latin  trans- 
lator’s rhetorical  preoccupations.  In  the  interest  of  style 
he  sometimes  departed  from  his  bald  original.  And  yet 
I do  not  believe  that  there  are  any  interpolated  passages 
in  H other  than  these,  the  false  title,  and  the  new  dedi- 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  14 


cation  to  King  Rene.  There  are  a very  few  phrases  and 
sentences  in  H,  which  appear  to  me  to  belong  in  the  text 
and  which  occur  neither  in  P or  M.  But,  as  I shall  show, 
the  two  latter  fall  into  a sub-group  by  themselves,  having 
a common  ancestor  that  H lacked.  Hence  one  cannot 
straightway  reject  a passage  in  H not  found  in  the  others. 
The  more  so  as  it  can  occasionally  be  shown  that  H is 
right  against  both  P and  M in  other  particulars.  H,  too, 
is  a valuable  aid  in  reconstructing  a critical  text,  in  spite 
of  its  many  errors.  M and  P also  abound  in  error.  P 
shows  the  mistakes  of  several  copyists  and  one  printer. 
It  shows  a slight  tendency  to  italianize  Spanish  words, 
but  lacks  errors  due  to  a desire  to  modernize;  and 
there  has  been  no  effort  to  improve  the  style.  M shows 
the  errors  of  several  copyists,  a strong  tendency  toward 
italianization  and  modernization.  It  lacks  errors  due 
to  printing,  and,  like  P,  shows  no  tendency  to  de- 
part from  the  bald  style  of  the  original.  All  three  ver- 
sions, P,  M,  and  H,  must  be  studied  in  common,  and 
their  mutual  relationship  worked  out.  Each  helps  to 
understand  the  others. 

But  before  doing  this,  mention  must  be  made  of  still  a 
fourth  version  of  the  Letter,  in  the  form  of  another  MS, 
known  as  the  Amoretti  codex  (A).  This  MS  was  first 
described  by  Gino  Capponi.13  Unfortunately  inquiries 
recently  made  in  Italy  have  failed  to  reveal  the  present 
whereabouts  of  A.  The  present  author  cannot  say 
whether  this  MS  still  exists.  We  know  from  Capponi’s 
description  that  it  is  modern,  contains  few  hispanicisms, 
and  has  the  reading  Perias  instead  of  Lariab.  This  item 
of  information  enables  us  to  be  sure  that  A cannot  be  a 
descendant  of  P.  It  would  appear  to  be  more  closely 

13  Capponi,  Osservazioni  sull’  Esame  Critic o del  Printo  Viaggio 
d’Amerigo  Vespucci  al  Nuovo  Mondo  (Florence),  1813,  p.  13. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  15 


related  to  M than  to  P or  H.  Varnhagen  did  not  see  A. 
Should  some  future  investigator  discover  A,  its  readings 
would  probably  serve  to  confirm  or  correct  the  results  of 
this  study  in  certain  details.  While  regretting  that  this 
MS  is  not  available,  I do  not  believe  that  it  is  vitally 
important. 

A Genealogical  Tree 

A comparison  of  P,  M,  and  H shows  that  these  three 
versions  stood  one  to  the  other  in  the  following 

o 

relationship : 

0 - 1504 

1 


X 


Let  O represent  the  Soderini  Letter  in  its  original 
Italian  form.  X is  a MS  which  I posit  on  what  may 
seem  slight,  but  which  is,  I believe,  sufficient  evidence. 
A certain  port  on  the  coast  of  Brazil  which  Vespucci’s 
Portuguese  companions  named  Bahia  de  todos  os  santos , 
All  Saints’  Bay,  appears  in  all  three  of  the  extant  versions 
as  All  Saints’  Abbey  (P  and  M:  badia;  H:  abbatiam). 
This  strange  error  was  perpetuated  on  nearly  all  the  maps 
of  Brazil  published  for  a century  after  the  appearance  of 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  16 


the  Cosmo graphiae  Introductio.  It  seems  hardly  plausi- 
ble to  suppose  a lapsus  calami  on  the  part  of  the  author 
of  O.  It  is  more  likely  that  the  foreign  word  baliia  (it 
might  be  either  Portuguese  or  Spanish)  was  misunder- 
stood by  a later  Italian  copyist  and  rendered  badia, 
“abbey,”  with  a change  of  one  letter,  instead  of  by  the 
correct  Italian  equivalent,  baia,  “bay.”  If  this,  the 
simplest  explanation,  be  correct,  then  we  must  posit  the 
existence  of  a common  ancestor  for  P,  M,  and  H other 
than  O,  viz.  X.  The  fact  that  I am  unable  to  detect 
other  errors  common  to  all  three  shows  that  X must  have 
been  fairly  correct  and  close  to  O.  Now,  the  other  errors 
of  H are  not  found  in  M and  P;  hence  H must  have, 
subsequent  to  X,  a different  line  of  descent.  F,  the 
French  version,  descends  from  X.  X3  is  a Latin  manu- 
script translation  of  F,  that  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
printer,  from  which  resulted  H.  There  may  have  been 
other  intermediary  copies  between  X and  H.  I find  no 
positive  evidence  of  their  existence,  and  note  merely 
those  copies  which  the  evidence  forces  us  to  accept. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  group,  X had  a descendent  X1, 
another  posited  copy,  whose  existence  I shall  now  proceed 
to  prove  by  citing  a number  of  errors  common  to  P and 
M and  which  H has  escaped.  These  errors  show  that  P 
and  M derive  from  a common  ancestor  from  which  H 
did  not  derive.  References  are  to  the  folios  of  P,  recto 
and  verso,  so  that  the  P readings  may  be  consulted  either 
in  our  own  facsimile,  in  that  of  Ouaritch,  or  in  Varn- 
hagen’s  page  for  page  reprint. 

2v.  Both  P and  M abbreviate  a passage  which  H gives 
entire,  combining  as  it  were  P and  M : P : ci  uiddono 
uestiti  & d’altra  statura ; M : ci  uedeuono  et  d’altra  elffgie 
che  non  es  loro ; H : quod  vestitos,  alteriusque  efifigiei 
quam  forent,  nos  esse  intuiti  sunt. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 

Page  17 


3v.  P : continuar ; M : continuare.  Both  wrongly  give 
an  infinitive  instead  of  the  adverbial  form  which  the 
sense  requires : continuo.  Proved  by  H : frequentissime. 

6r.  P.  M : dua  fanciulle  et  dua  homini ; H ; iuven- 
culis  duas  et  viris  tres.  Inasmuch  as  all  three  versions 
later  give  the  total  “five,”  it  is  as  plain  that  P and  M 
are  here  wrong  as  it  is  that  two  and  two  make  four.  A 
very  decisive  instance. 

6r.  P,  M : torne,  where  toccarne  would  make  better 
sense.  H : contingere. 

yv.  Both  P and  M read  alloggiate  where  alleggiate, 
“lightened,”  “unloaded,”  would  make  better  sense;  H: 
exoneravimus. 

yv.  P:  ghustammo;  M:  gustamo,  “tasted.”  Gastam- 
mo,  “consumed,”  seems  better.  H : consumpsimus. 

gr.  P : la  qual  terra  trouammo  essere  tucta  annegata 
& piena  di  grandissimi  fiumi ; M : La  qual  terra  trouamo 
essere  molto  uerde  et  di  grandissimi  Arbori.  Each  of 
the  Italian  versions  is  incomplete,  the  Latin  complete. 
H : Eandem  terram  in  aquis  omnino  submersam,  necnon 
magnis  fluminibus  perfusam  esse  invenimus,  quae  et 
quidem  semet  plurimum  viridem  et  proceras  altissimas- 
que  arbores  habentem  mostrabat. 

i iv.  P,  M:  di  di  (a  nonsensical  corruption  of  donde)  ; 
H : ubi.  Another  decisive  instance. 

13V.  M : aspectandoli,  showing  an  omission;  P : aspetta- 
moli  8 di ; H : diebus  sex  perstitimus.  The  H reading  is 
not  only  complete  where  M is  deficient,  but  “six”  is  cor- 
rect, as  is  proved  by  a later  allusion  to  the  following 
“seventh  day”  in  all  three. 

1 4r.  P : & qui  trouammo  canna  fistola  molto  grossa  & 
uerde  & secca  in  cima  delli  arbori;  M:  et  qui  trouamo 
cagnafistola  molto  grossa  et  secca  incima  delli  Albori. 
Both  readings  are  incomplete  and  confused.  H : ubi 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  18 


cannas  fistulas  virides,  plurimum  grossas,  et  etiam  non- 
nullas  in  arborum  cacuminibus  seccas  invenimus. 

These  instances,  and  I might  cite  others  not  quite  so 
certain,  amply  prove  the  existence  of  a former  version 
X1.  The  existence  of  X1  is  also  rendered  probable  by 
certain  omissions  which  P and  M have  of  passages 
found  in  H.  I do  not  here  cite  these,  because  it  might  be 
urged  that  the  passages  in  question  are,  some  if  not  all, 
interpolations  in  H,  though  I do  not  believe  that  any  of 
them  are  so.  Numerous  passages  in  H which  Varnhagen 
had  believed  to  be  interpolations  are  now  proved  by  M 
to  have  belonged  in  O.  The  few  remaining  passages,  not 
found  in  either  P or  M,  all  of  which  appear  to  belong 
naturally  in  the  text,  may  be  explained  as  omissions  in 
the  common  ancestor  of  P and  M,  X1.  The  fact  must 
be  emphasized  that  there  are  no  scribal  blunders  in  H 
common  to  P against  M,  or  to  M against  P.  We  have 
therefore  proved  two  distinct  lines  of  descent  subsequent 
to  X,  P and  M falling  together  in  one  sub-group,  and  H 
in  another. 

It  will  be  seen  that  X1  was  so  inaccurate  as  compared 
to  X that  intermediary  copies  between  them  are  very  pos- 
sible. C represents  the  Choralmi  copy  of  1505,  from 
which  the  later  M descends  directly.  X2  represents  a 
copy  deriving  from  X1,  that  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
printer  of  P.  This  copy  is  proved  by  purely  scribal  er- 
rors to  be  found  in  P distinct  from  the  printer’s  errors 
also  found  in  that  version.  As  the  discrepancy  between 
P and  M is  very  great,  there  may  also  have  been  other 
copies  than  those  I posit  between  X1  and  M and  X1  and  P. 

Principles  to  be  Observed  in  Reconstructing  O 

We  can  now  better  appreciate  how  far  our  extant  texts 
are  removed  from  the  original,  and  how  uncertain  must 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  19 


be  a historical  judgment  based  upon  the  readings  of  any 
one,  or  indeed  any  two,  of  them.  Such  uncritical  pro- 
cedure has  been  a prolific  source  of  error,  and  has  caused 
Vespucci’s  veracity  to  be  impugned  in  many  cases  when 
he  was  merely  the  victim  of  scribe  or  printer.  To  avoid 
this  in  the  future  we  must  seek  to  re-establish  the  correct 
readings  of  O.  The  first  step  is,  obviously,  to  combine 
M and  P in  order  to  reconstruct  X1.  There  are  scores 
of  instances  where  M and  P are  at  variance.  In  nearly 
every  such  case  comparison  with  H gives  the  desired 
reading.  A two  to  one  vote  decides  (HP  versus  M,  or 
HM  versus  P).  Granted  the  existence  of  the  common 
ancestor  X1  for  P and  M,  this  process  becomes  one  of 
mathematical  certainty;  for  the  source  of  error  must  be 
subsequent  to  X1.  To  illustrate  with  a single  example: 
When  we  have  the  reading  P arias  (MH)  against  Lariab 
(P),  to  say  nothing  of  the  Amoretti  Codex  reading 
Perias , we  may  be  certain  that  Lariab  is  erroneous.  This 
is  a matter  of  complete  demonstration.  How  greatly  this 
one  established  fact  will  cause  historians  to  revise  their 
opinions  regarding  the  itinerary  of  the  alleged  first 
voyage,  only  those  well  versed  in  the  subject  will  ap- 
preciate. It  is  a fact  very  damaging  to  the  theories  of 
Varnhagen  and  Fiske,  and  will  more  than  ever  confirm 
in  their  opinion  those  who  reject  the  authenticity  of  the 
first  voyage. 

X1,  therefore,  may  be  reconstituted  by  a purely 
mechanical  process,  in  so  far  as  we  are  dealing  with 
words  and  not  troubling  ourselves  with  the  dialectical 
forms  in  which  those  words  appeared ; but  to  work  back- 
ward to  X is  a much  more  delicate  and  uncertain  matter. 
When  we  have  the  combination  MP  versus  H,  the  vote  is 
no  longer  two  against  one,  but  rather  one  to  one,  because 
it  is  really  X1  that  we  are  comparing  with  H.  When  M 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  20 


and  P agree  they  are  correctly  perpetuating  their  common 
ancestor,  which  itself  may  or  may  not  be  correct.  In 
such  cases,  wherever  possible,  we  should  be  guided  by  ex- 
ternal criteria.  To  illustrate  : In  an  example  cited  above, 
both  M and  P make  two  and  two  total  five.  Here  we 
call  mathematics  to  our  aid,  decide  that  X1  is  at  fault, 
and  adopt  the  “two  and  three”  reading  of  H.  Conversely, 
where  M and  P allude  to  a statement  as  being  found  in 
the  26th  canto  of  Dante’s  Inferno  and  H instead  refers 
to  the  22nd  canto,  we  open  our  Dante  to  decide  the  point 
and  render  a verdict  against  H.  Where  P reads  Melac- 
cha,  M.  Melatha,  and  H.  Melcha,  our  knowledge  of  geog- 
raphy causes  us  to  favor  the  P reading.  Such  cases  as 
these  are  childishly  simple,  but  such  easy  solutions  are 
rare.  We  must  also  take  into  careful  account  the  genius 
of  the  MS.  Where  M and  P read  “my  voyage”  and  H 
“our  voyage,”  we  decide  for  H,  because  in  nearly  every 
other  similar  instance  the  reading  “our  voyage”  is  as- 
sured. But  for  the  most  part  we  shall  be  forced  to  rely 
upon  common  sense  and  the  inherent  probability  of  the 
case.  There  will  remain  a small  residuum  of  uncertain 
readings  based  upon  nothing  better  than  the  editor’s  sub- 
jective impressions.  Where  there  appears  little  or  no 
choice  between  two  readings,  I believe  we  should  favor 
the  Italian  versions  against  the  Latin,  because  the  possi- 
bility of  error  is  always  greater  in  H ; but  such  readings 
will  not  be  assured,  because  it  so  often  happens  that  H is 
correct.  The  Italian  original  upon  which  H was  indi- 
rectly based  was  clearly  much  more  reliable  than  either 
M or  P.  Where  all  three  versions  disagree,  the  situation 
is  still  more  difficult.  When  at  last  we  have  arrived  as 
nearly  as  possible  to  a reconstruction  of  the  X version 
by  the  delicate  process  of  combining  X1  and  H,  the  only 
thing  to  be  done  is  to  correct  such  obvious  errors  as  are 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  21 


common  to  M,  P,  and  H (I  have  found  only  one  case), 
and  the  result  is  O,  or  as  close  an  approach  to  it  as  we 
can  hope  to  reach. 

The  process  of  arriving  at  a critical  text  is  complicated 
by  the  fact  that  one  of  the  three  versions  compared  is  in 
a different  language  from  the  two  others;  but  a far 
greater  difficulty  arises  when  we  consider  the  strange 
character  of  the  dialect  of  the  original.  The  language  of 

0 was  an  odd  jargon,  composed  of  vulgar  Florentine 
and  Spanish.  There  exists  no  other  contemporary  docu- 
ment useful  as  an  external  norm  to  guide  the  editor  in 
his  choice  of  forms,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Ves- 
pucci’s so-called  apocryphal  letters  which  help  very  little. 

1 believe  that  with  the  material  at  hand  it  would  be  pos- 
sible to  construct  a text  of  the  Soderini  Letter  that  would 
be  nearly,  if  not  wholly  complete,  and  contain  very 
closely  the  words  of  the  original.  But  when  it  comes  to 
determining  the  dialectical  forms  of  these  words  and 
deciding  whether  Italian  or  Spanish  words  should  be  em- 
ployed, that  is  a very  different  matter.  The  present 
writer  despairs  of  reconstituting  a text  that  will  even 
closely  approach  the  mixed  jargon  of  the  original.  Com- 
parison of  M with  P shows  that  the  language  of  X'  must 
have  been  still  more  Spanish  and  barbarous  than  that 
of  P;  X and  O were  probably  each  in  turn  still  more 
uncouth.  But  all  this  matters  very  little.  We  are  inter- 
ested in  the  Soderini  Letter  as  a historical  source,  not  as 
a monument  of  literature  or  linguistics.  The  present 
writer,  therefore,  proposes  to  evade  the  difficulties  of 
dialect  by  attempting  a reconstitution  of  O in  English. 
Such  a text  will,  it  is  hoped,  give  the  historian  the  facts 
he  desires.  Nevertheless,  we  must  now  study  more 
closely  the  strange  Italo-Hispanic  jargon  of  P and  M 
to  determine  whether  the  Soderini  Letter  may  not  be 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  22 


even  in  its  original  Italian  form  merely  the  revamping  of 
a work  originally  written  in  Spanish. 

Did  O Have  A Spanish  Original? 

The  H version  plainly  states  that  the  Soderini  Letter  is 
the  same,  or  essentially  the  same,  as  one  previously  writ- 
ten to  King  Ferdinand  of  Spain:  “res  ...  ad  Ferdinan- 
dum  Castiliae  Regem  nominatim  scriptas  ad  te  quoqae 
mittam .”  “I  shall  send  thee  also  things  written  expressly 
for  Ferdinand,  King  of  Castile.”  In  the  Latin  version 
this  remark  is  addressed  to  Duke  Rene  of  Lorraine,  but 
it  does  not  stand  in  the  new  and  false  dedication  of  the 
letter  to  that  nobleman,  at  the  very  beginning,  but  farther 
down  in  the  text.  Nothing  corresponding  to  this  is  found 
in  either  P or  M.  Since  the  time  of  Varnhagen,  this 
passage  has  been  regarded  as  an  interpolation  in  H.  I 
shall  not  beg  the  question  at  the  beginning  of  my  argu- 
ment by  insisting  that  this  phrase  is  genuine.  I frankly 
admit  that  it  may  be  an  interpolation,  though  I strongly 
believe  it  to  be  genuine  for  the  following  reasons : 

i.  As  already  stated  the  interpolations  in  H,  if  they 
exist  at  all,  are  very  few,  and  this  is  certainly  the  most 
striking  of  them.  On  this  very  page  of  the  Latin  text 
occur  the  words  Georgii  Anthonii  Vesputii , avunctdi  mei. 
Now,  Varnhagen  considered  the  words  avimculi  mei  an 
interpolation  because  they  were  not  proved  by  P,  and 
this  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  individual  mentioned 
was  in  truth  Vespucci’s  uncle.  But  the  M version  con- 
tains the  words  mio  zio  in  the  corresponding  passage, 
proving  H correct.  M has  proved  the  authenticity  of 
scores  of  similar  supposed  interpolations  in  H.  The  very 
few  remaining  questionable  passages  not  proved  by  P 
or  M may  well  be  due  to  omissions  in  their  common  an- 
cestor X1. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  23 


2.  What  object  would  the  men  of  Saint-Die  have  for 
inserting  a lying  statement  in  their  text?  We  have 
proved  correct  the  other  statements  of  the  Latin  trans- 
lator regarding  the  provenience  of  his  version,  viz.  that  it 
came  through  the  French  from  an  Italian  source.  There- 
fore when  the  same  writer  indicates  a Spanish  source  for 
the  Italian,  his  statement  should  not  be  hastily  dismissed 
as  unimportant;  it  deserves  to  be  tested  carefully.  On 
the  other  hand,  would  not  an  Italian  scribe  have  an  object 
in  omitting  this  statement?  It  would  flatter  the  people  of 
Florence  to  suppose  that  the  letter  received  by  their  magis- 
trate, the  Gonfaloniere  Piero  Soderini,  was  an  original 
document,  and  not  merely  a re-working  of  one  first  sent 
to  a foreign  king.  And  if  the  P scribe  even  omits  the 
dedication  to  Soderini,  what  wonder  that  he  or  a still 
earlier  scribe  should  have  omitted  the  reference  to  King 
Ferdinand?  It  is  easier  to  explain  an  omission  than  an 
interpolation. 

3.  In  this  passage,  Ferdinand’s  title  is  erroneously 
given  as  “King  of  Castile”  instead  of  correctly  as  “King 
of  Aragon.”  Now,  Vespucci  farther  on,  in  an  assured 
passage  makes  this  same  mistake.  Of  course,  the  Latin 
author  may  have  looked  ahead  in  the  text  and  copied 
Vespucci  in  this  error.  But  is  this  explanation  more 
likely  than  the  other? 

4.  Was  it  not  wholly  natural  for  Vespucci  to  write  the 
first  account  of  his  voyages  to  one  of  his  immediate 
patrons  and  then  send  copies  or  translations  to  potentates 
in  other  lands?  This  was  the  usual  practice  of  the  early 
navigators.  On  returning  from  his  voyage  a discoverer 
would  write  his  narrationes  which  often  amounted  in 
length  to  a book.  A copy  would  first  be  presented  to  the 
navigator’s  immediate  patron  under  whose  auspices  the 
voyage  had  been  made,  and  who  had  the  first  right  to  be 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  24 


informed  concerning-  it.  But  curiosity  concerning  the 
new  voyages  was  keen  throughout  Europe.  Other  kings 
and  prominent  men  would  clamor  for  information,  or  the 
navigator  would  seek  to  arouse  their  interest  if  it  was 
lacking.  Naturally  the  latter  would  not  write  a new 
book  of  travel  for  each  correspondent.  He  would  send 
copies  of  his  original.  In  case  the  correspondent  spoke 
another  tongue,  a translation  of  the  original  might  be 
made.  These  copies  and  translations  were  probably  in 
most  cases  the  work  of  other  hands;  hence  the  large 
amount  of  error  and  contradiction  which  make  these 
documents  the  despair  of  modern  scholarship.  To  men- 
tion only  three  great  names,  it  was  the  custom  of  Tosca- 
nelli,  Columbus,  and  Pigafetta  to  send  duplicate  letters 
or  translations  broad-cast  through  Europe.  But  was  this 
the  custom  of  Vespucci  himself?  Yes.  The  Mundus 
Novns  is  addressed  to  Piero  dei  Medici.  Toward  the 
close  of  that  letter,  Vespucci  apologizes  to  his  sovereign 
for  delay  in  sending  the  letter,  but  blames  the  King  of 
Portugal  who  has  retained  in  his  possession  the  original 
narrative  ( archetypum ).  Evidently,  Vespucci  had  in- 
tended to  send  Piero  dei  Medici  a mere  transcript  or  trans- 
lation of  his  “archtype,”  but,  failing  to  obtain  it,  was 
forced  to  write  an  entirely  new  account.  What  then 
more  natural  than  that  Vespucci  should  base  his  narrative 
to  Soderini  upon  one  previously  prepared  in  Spanish  for 
his  patron  Ferdinand?  To  this  Vespucci’s  critics  will 
reply  that  the  first  voyage  is  a figment  of  the  imagination 
and  that  Vespucci  would  never  have  dared  circulate  this 
document  in  Spain  where  the  facts  were  known.  With- 
out entering  into  the  mooted  question  of  Vespucci’s  first 
voyage,  I answer  that  I do  not  insist  that  the  supposed 
Spanish  “archtype”  was  divided  into  the  scheme  of  four 
voyages,  though  it  may  have  been.  Vespucci  always  in- 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  25 


sists  that  he  has  completed  four  voyages,  and  the  title  of 
his  long  work  was  to  have  been  the  Quattro  Giornate. 
It  is  well  known  that  much  of  the  material  found  in  the 
first  voyage  of  the  Soderini  Letter  also  appears  in  the 
Mundus  Novus  which  has  to  do  with  the  third  voyage.  I 
merely  contend  that  the  Soderini  Letter  may  have  been 
in  part  based  upon  some  previously  existing  Spanish  nar- 
rative from  which  Vespucci  himself,  or  some  secretary  in 
his  employ,  drew  and  re-worked  in  order  to  lighten  the 
labor.  There  is  undoubtedly  much  of  a personal  nature 
in  the  Soderini  Letter  that  could  not  have  stood  in  any 
Spanish  source.  But  these  touches,  which  occur  mostly 
at  the  beginning  and  the  end,  were  easy  to  add.  When 
we  consider  the  close  relationship  between  Italy  and  Spain 
during  the  epoch  of  the  discovery,  when  we  recall  the 
strange  way  in  which  many  of  Columbus’  letters  have 
come  down  to  us,  and  the  questions  which  arise  regard- 
ing Ferdinand  Columbus’  Histone  (known  to  us  only  in 
its  Italian  form),  there  is  nothing  inherently  improbable 
in  the  assumption  that  the  Soderini  Letter  may  have  had 
an  antecedent  Spanish  form.  We  might  also  mention 
the  curious  Trevigiano  edition  of  Martyr’s  Decades  and 
the  question  which  has  arisen  as  to  the  first  form  in 
which  Pigafetta  prepared  his  narrative. 

5.  By  far  the  strongest  reason  for  supposing  that  the 
statement  in  H is  correct  is  the  fact  that  a Spanish  origin 
seems  to  be  confirmed  by  the  numerous  hispanicisms  of 
the  Soderini  Letter.  These  are  so  striking,  and  so  hard 
to  explain  on  any  other  hypothesis,  that  to  my  mind  they 
prove  the  point  of  themselves.  This  is  a matter  which 
demands  a detailed  investigation.  But  first  we  must 
state  the  generally  accepted  theory  regarding  Vespucci’s 
language. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  26 


Two  Theories  Respecting  Vespucci’s  Language 

All  those  who  have  written  on  Vespucci  have  pointed 
out  the  large  number  of  Spanish  words  and  idioms  to  be 
found  in  his  Soderini  Letter.  Bandini  called  attention 
to  many  of  these  in  his  edition  of  the  Letter,  though  he 
modernized  others;  Canovai  gave  a fairly  complete  list 
of  them  in  the  form  of  a glossary;14  and  Varnhagen  in- 
dicated hispanicisms  by  printing  them  in  italics.  To 
account  for  these  hispanicisms  two  theories  suggest 
themselves:  i.  Vespucci  had  lived  so  long  in  Spain  and 

Portugal,  had  sailed  on  so  many  voyages  with  cosmo- 
politan crews,  that  he  had  virtually  forgotten  his  own 
language  and  had  come  to  speak  and  write  a sort  of 
lingua  franca  in  which  it  had  become  as  natural  for  him 
to  employ  a Spanish  or  a Portuguese  as  an  Italian  word. 
2.  The  Soderini  Letter  is  based  upon  some  Spanish  origi- 
nal. Let  us  examine  both  these  views,  and,  if  possible, 
determine  which  of  the  two  represents  the  truth. 

The  first  theory  has  been  upheld,  though  be  it  said  on 
faith  and  without  searching  investigation,  by  nearly  all 
the  historians  and  biographers  of  Vespucci.  Canovai  and 
Harrisse,  are  the  most  prominent  of  those  who  doubted 
whether  the  Italian  version  was  original  in  that  language. 
Canovai  makes  little  of  the  point,  and  Harrisse  says: 
“Vespucius  certainly  wrote  a great  deal,  but  he  is  not  the 
author  of  the  accounts  of  his  voyages  which  have  been 
transmitted  to  us.  As  to  the  above-mentioned  Letters, 
not  only  the  original  text  is  lost,  but  we  do  not  even 
know  in  what  language  they  were  originally  written. 
That  two  of  those  important  documents  were  composed 
at  Lisbon  does  not  admit  of  much  doubt,  but  whether  in 
Portuguese,  Spanish,  Italian,  or  Latin,  no  one  can  de- 
termine; although  some  critics  endeavor  to  satisfy  all 

14 Canovai,  Viaggi  di  Amerigo  Vespucci  {Florence),  1832. 

The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  27 


parties  by  asserting  that  the  first  two  were  written  in  the 
language  of  Spain,  and  the  last  two  in  that  of  Portu- 
gal.,,1S  Most  authorities  such  as  Napione,  Gino  Capponi, 
Varnhagen,  Major,  Antonio  de  Martino,  and  Rambaldi 
are  of  one  mind.  Martino,  while  he  recognizes  the  fact 
that  the  errors  due  to  “sophists  and  printers”  are  such 
that  we  can  rely  on  no  single  date  or  orthography  in  P 
and  H,  nevertheless  thinks  it  natural  for  Vespucci  to  have 
used  hispanicisms.16  Capponi  gives  the  orthodox  formu- 
lation of  the  lingua  franca  theory:  “Like  Signor  Napi- 
one I cannot  wonder  at  the  many  hispanicisms  which  are 
to  be  met  with  in  The  Four  Voyages , as  it  seems  to  me 
that  these  are  only  too  natural,  after  a long  sojourn  in 
Spain  on  the  part  of  a man  who  frankly  blames  himself 
for  the  barbarity  of  his  own  style.”17  Varnhagen  attests 
that  those  who,  like  himself,  have  lived  many  years  in 
Spanish-speaking  lands  are  familiar  with  instances  of 
Italians  in  those  countries  who  speak  a like  jargon. 
Varnhagen  makes  the  presence  or  absence  of  hispanicisms 
in  a letter  attributed  to  Vespucci  the  touchstone  of  its 
authenticity,  and  rejects  the  so-called  apocryphical  let- 
ters mainly  on  the  ground  that  he  finds  no  traces  of 
Spanish  in  them. 

Needless  to  say,  we  are  all  familiar  with  the  foreigner 
who  has  half  forgotten  his  native  tongue,  without  ever 
really  learning  that  of  the  country  of  his  adoption.  He 
is  really  a man  without  a language.  We  admit  at  the  out- 
set that  such  a linguistic  phenomenon  is  common.  But  is 
this  likely  to  have  been  the  case  with  Vespucci?  Let  us 
examine.  The  Florentine  navigator  was  born  in  1451. 

35  Harrisse,  Bibliotheca  Americana  Vetustissima  (New  York),  1866, 
PP-  64  f. 

18  Martino,  In  quale  anno  Amerigo  Vespucci  compi  il  suo  primo 
viaggio  in  America.  (Avellino),  1902. 

17  Capponi,  op.  cit.,  quoted  by  Varnhagen,  op.  cit.,  p.  27. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  28 


We  know  that  he  never  left  Italy  for  any  long  period  of 
time,  and  hence  never  grew  out  of  the  habit  of  speaking 
Italian,  until  1490,  when  he  took  service  in  Spain.  There 
and  on  his  voyages  he  was  associated  with  other  Italians, 
so  that  even  then  he  did  not  lose  the  opportunity  of  con- 
versing in  his  native  tongue.  After  fourteen  years  of 
residence  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  and  time  spent  in  navi- 
gation, he  writes  the  Soderini  Letter  in  1504.  If  the 
language  of  that  letter  as  it  has  been  transmitted  to  us 
in  the  P version  represents  at  all  accurately  the  dialect 
in  which  it  was  originally  penned  by  Vespucci,  then  the 
latter  had  in  the  course  of  fourteen  years  so  forgotten 
his  native  tongue  that  he  could  scarcely  write  a sentence 
in  Italian  without  violating  the  genius  of  that  language. 
We  shall  find  that  he  had  forgotten  some  of  the  simplest 
words  and  idioms  in  the  Italian  vocabulary  and  substi- 
tuted for  them  words  and  phrases  which  he  ought  to 
have  known  would  be  meaningless  nonsense  to  his  coun- 
trymen. Is  this  likely?  At  the  age  of  thirty-nine  a man’s 
linguistic  habits  are  formed.  He  acquires  a foreign 
tongue  with  difficulty  and  is  less  likely  to  forget  his  own 
than  is  one  who  has  left  home  at  an  earlier  age.  But 
that  man  who  has  sufficient  talent  for  language  to  learn 
at  that  age  to  write  with  correctness  a foreign  tongue  is 
less  likely  to  be  illiterate  in  his  own  than  one  who  only 
partially  learns  the  speach  of  his  adopted  country.  Now, 
the  only  autograph  letter  of  Vespucci’s  which  has  so  far 
come  to  light  is  one  dated  Dec.  9,  1508  and  addressed  to 
the  famous  Cardinal  Ximenez.18  This  letter  is  written  in 

18  Tre  lettere  di  Cristoforo  Colombo  ed  Amerigo  Vespucci  (ed. 
Zeri,  Rome),  1881.  This  is  an  Italian  reprint  of  the  letter  which  was 
first  printed  in  Spain:  Carta  de  Amerigo  Vespucci  al  Cardinal 
Arzobispo  de  Toledo  ( Ximenez  de  Cisneros)  ddndole  su  parecer 
sobre  las  mercancias  que  hubieron  de  llevarse  d las  islas  antillas. 
Ministerio  de  fomento.  Cartas  de  Indias.  (Madrid),  1877.  The 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  29 


Vespucci’s  hand  throughout.  It  is  not  the  work  of  a 
secretary.  We  should  not  be  surprised  if  the  document 
revealed  traces  of  Italian  idiom.  But  nothing  of  the  sort 
is  apparent.  The  language  is  pure  Castilian.  We  are 
asked,  then,  to  believe  that  an  educated  man,  capable  of 
expressing  himself  in  good  Spanish,  was  incapable  of 
writing  intelligently  his  mother  tongue.  Supporters  of 
the  lingua*  franca  theory  make  much  of  the  fact  that  Ves- 
pucci accuses  himself  of  writing  in  a barbarous  style. 
This  confession  may  be  merely  the  mock  modesty  of  a 
humble  subject  addressing  a ruler  who  was  himself  a 
man  of  letters.  Or  it  may  be  that  Vespucci,  like  Ben- 
venuto Cellini  later,  wrote  a popular  form  of  the  Floren- 
tine and  was  guilty  of  certain  solecisms.  Other  members 
of  his  family  used  this  dialect.19  It  is  not  necessary  to 
suppose  that  he  wrote  elegant,  literary  Italian.  Floren- 
tine then  as  now  was  less  fixed  than  Castilian.  Neither 
is  it  improbable  that  like  many  another  traveler  Vespucci 
may  have  occasionally  used  an  exotic  word;  but  it  is  in- 
comprehensible that  he  could  ever  have  employed  a jar- 
gon as  unintelligible  as  that  of  P.  Many  passages  in  the 
Soderini  Letter  cannot  be  understood  by  an  Italian  un- 
versed in  Spanish.  Again,  the  apology  for  the  barbarous 
style  may  have  been  inserted  by  a translator  who  had  mis- 
givings concerning  the  accuracy  of  his  rendering.  All 
things  considered,  there  are  strong  grounds  for  doubting 

only  errors  of  Spanish  which  I note  are  two : yr  i lleuar  for  yr  a 
lleuar  and  aueria  por  muy  dificoltosa  for  tendria  p.  m.  d.  Any 
Spaniard  of  the  time  might  have  made  these  slight  errors,  if  errors 
they  can  be  called. 

19Masetti-Bencini : La  vita  di  Amerigo  Vespucci  a Firenze  da 
lettere  inedite  a lui  dirette.  Rivista  delle  biblioteche  e degli  archivi. 
Vol.  XIII  ( Nos.  10-12  and  Vol.  XIV,  Nos.  3-4.  The  71  letters  here 
printed  were  addressed  to  Vespucci  by  members  of  his  family  and 
are  written  in  a rude  Florentine  very  much  like  that  used  by 
Cellini. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  30 


that  Vespucci  was  an  illiterate  in  his  use  of  Italian.  The 
very  nature  of  the  mistakes  is  such  as  to  suggest  that 
the  Soderini  Letter  is  a faulty  rendering  or  re-working 
of  some  document  first  written  in  Spanish. 

With  regard  to  the  latter  possibility  John  Fiske  says: 
“The  language  of  this  text  is  a corrupt  Italian,  abounding 
in  such  Spanish  and  Portuguese  words  and  turns  of  ex- 
pression as  Vespucius  would  have  been  likely,  during 
fourteen  years  of  residence  in  the  Iberian  peninsula  and 
of  association  with  sailors,  to  incorporate  into  his  every- 
day speech.  This  fact  is  very  significant,  for  if  a book 
thus  printed  in  Florence  were  a translation  from  any- 
thing else,  its  language  would  be  likely  to  be  the  ordinary 
Italian  of  the  time,  not  a jargon  salted  with  the  Atlantic 
brine.  Altogether  it  seems  in  the  highest  degree  probable 
that  we  have  here  the  primitive  text,  long  given  up  for 
lost,  of  the  ever  memorable  letter  from  Vespucius  to  his 
former  schoolmate  Soderini.”20  “Jargon  salted  with  the 
Atlantic  brine”  is  a pretty  phrase,  but  Fiske’s  argument 
will  not  stand  inspection.  Nobody  would  be  surprised  if 
Vespucci  used  only  such  Spanish  words  as  everyday  as- 
sociation with  sailors  would  lead  him  to  incorporate  into 
his  Italian.  Pigafetta  does  so,  yet  nobody  would  suspect 
a Spanish  original  for  Pigafetta’s  narrative.  Vespucci’s 
hispanicisms  are  of  a very  different  sort.  Again,  what 
right  had  Fiske  to  assume  that  a translation,  if  made, 
would  necessarily  have  been  the  work  of  an  educated  and 
competent  man.  On  the  contrary  any  scholar  who  has 
dealt  with  mediaeval  or  renaissance  translations  knows 
that  such  work  was  often  intrusted  to  incompetent  work- 
men who  not  only  were  not  concerned  with  niceties  of 
style  or  language,  but  worried  little  as  to  the  accuracy  of 
their  renderings.  A case  in  point  is  the  translation  of 

^Fiske,  The  Discovery  of  America  (Boston  and  New  York),  1892. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  31 


Vespucci’s  Mundus  Novus  into  the  Venetian  dialect, 
found  in  the  work  entitled : Paesi  nuouamente  retrouati 
e Novo  Mondo  da  Alberico  (sic)  Vesputio  (Vicenza), 
1507.  The  translator  of  this  work  has  been  at  no  pains 
to  be  accurate  or  to  preserve  the  genius  of  the  Italian. 
He  has  in  school-boy  fashion  substituted  for  most  Latin 
words  their  corresponding  Italian  or  Venetian  cognates 
without  troubling  himself  to  inquire  whether  these  cog- 
nates did  not  often  give  an  utterly  absurd  meaning.  He 
has  even  preserved  the  Latin  word  order,  so  foreign  to 
Italian.  His  process  was  one  of  awkward  transliteration 
and  little  more.  Fiske,  therefore,  begs  the  question  when 
he  assumes  that  a translation  of  a Spanish  version  into 
Italian  would  have  been  couched  in  good  Tuscan.  On  the 
contrary,  if  the  translator  were  unskilled  or  indifferent, 
he  would  merely  have  substituted  for  each  Spanish  word 
the  Italian  term  most  resembling  it. 

This  I believe  is  what  has  happened  in  the  case  of  the 
Soderini  Letter.  There  has  apparently  taken  place  here, 
too,  a process  of  translation  by  substitution  of  cognates 
rather  than  by  the  choice  of  the  exact  equivalent  in  mean- 
ing. Italian  and  Spanish  are  such  closely  related  lan- 
guages that  in  a majority  of  instances  the  corresponding 
cognate  would  also  correspond  in  meaning,  exactly  trans- 
lating the  Spanish  word.  But  the  true  test  comes  where 
the  related  words  have  developed  divergent  meanings  in 
the  two  languages.  Then  the  substitution  of  an  Italian 
cognate  for  the  like  or  similarly  spelled  Spanish  form 
will  result  in  nonsense.  At  this  point  I cite  but  a single 
example  to  make  plain  my  point:  Cansar  in  Spanish 

means  “to  tire”;  cansare  in  Italian  ( scansare  in  modem 
Italian)  means  “to  dodge,”  “shun,”  “avoid.”  Now  is  it 
likely  that  Vespucci,  if  originally  writing  in  his  native 
tongue,  would  forget  stancare  and  write  “avoid”  when 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  32 


he  intended  to  say  “tire?”  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  easy 
to  see  how  a bungling  translator  would  thoughtlessly 
render  Spanish  cansar  by  the  Italian  cansare,  oblivious  of 
the  fact  that  the  sense  had  been  destroyed.  This  example 
is  typical  of  many  others  of  the  same  sort.  Throughout 
the  text,  in  my  opinion,  there  is  observable  a process  of 
translation  by  cognates.  When  the  Spanish  word  sug- 
gested nothing  to  the  Italian  translator  (I  am  taking  his 
existence  for  granted  as  a working  hypothesis),  that 
Spanish  word  was  retained  in  his  text. 

Does  the  Soderini  Letter  Show  Traces  of 
Portuguese  Forms? 

Before  examining  closely  the  hispanicisms  in  P and 
M,  it  is  necessary  to  clear  the  ground  by  considering 
whether  Portuguese  as  well  as  Spanish  forms  occur  in 
the  Letter.  If  part  of  the  foreign  words  are  Spanish, 
and  part  Portuguese,  then  the  case  of  the  advocates  of 
the  lingua  franca  theory  is  greatly  strengthened.  If  on 
the  other  hand  it  can  be  shown  that  while  Spanish  words 
abound,  there  are  no  Portuguese  words,  or  at  most  such 
an  occasional  Portuguese  word  as  any  traveler  might  in- 
troduce into  his  narrative,  then  there  is  an  increased 
probability  that  our  text  is  based  on  a Spanish  original. 
Varnhagen,  who  as  a Brazilian  spoke  Portuguese  as  his 
mother  tongue,  gives  a number  of  instances  of  what  he 
considers  Portuguese  usage.  Let  us  now  take  up  each 
of  these  cases  separately. 

For  the  noun  contc,  “beads,”  Varnhagen  suggests 
Portuguese  contas.  But  why  rather  than  Spanish 
cuentasf  Folgato  he  thinks  represents  Portuguese  fol- 
gado.  But  why  Portuguese  rather  than  Spanish  folgado? 
He  thinks  di  basso  represents  Portuguese  debaixo;  but 
Spanish  debaxo  is  closer.  The  verb  rischattare  is  not,  as 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  33 


he  thinks,  Portuguese  res  gat  ar,  but  a perfectly  good 
Italian  verb.  Cansati  does  not  represent  Portuguese  any 
more  than  Spanish  cansados.  Lingue  he  takes  to  be 
Portuguese  linguas,  “interpreters”;  but  Spanish  lengrns 
also  had  this  meaning.  Riiogo  is  surely  no  closer  to 
Portuguese  rogo  than  to  Spanish  ruego.  Cose  di  riscatto 
he  thinks  to  be  Portuguese  coisas  de  resgate;  why  rather 
than  Spanish  cosas  de  rescatef  Besides,  riscatto  is  a 
good  Italian  form.  Fatesce,  “small  boat  anchors,”  he 
says  is  Portuguese  fateixas;  but  why  rather  than  Spanish 
fatexas ? Parchi , “a  kind  of  fish,”  he  says  is  Portuguese 
pargos;  why  rather  than  Spanish  pargosf  Serrazon  he 
identifies  with  Portuguese  serragao;  Spanish  cerrazon 
was  often  written  serragon  in  the  old  language.  Cauezuto 
does  not  represent  Portuguese  any  more  than  Spanish 
cauegado  (modern  cabezndo). 

Every  one  of  this  list  of  alleged  Portuguese  words 
cited  by  Varnhagen  may  be  explained  away  as  being 
with  equal  or  greater  probability  Spanish  or  Italian. 
When  the  word  is  spelled  alike  in  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
we  cannot  say  dogmatically  that  the  form  in  question  is 
not  a lusatanianism.  But  we  can  say  positively  that  there 
is  not  a single  form  in  the  Soderini  Letter  which  is  un- 
questionably Portuguese.  If  such  exist,  they  are  of  no 
more  significance  than  the  few  scraps  of  Latin  therein  to 
be  found.  There  can  never  be  the  slightest  question  of 
either  a Portuguese  or  a Latin  origin  for  the  Soderini 
Letter. 


Hispanicisms  in  P and  M 
Our  next  step  is  to  clear  still  further  the  ground  by 
rejecting  or  questioning  certain  of  the  hispanicisms  which 
Bandini,  Canovai,  and  Varnhagen  have  alleged.  Our 
argument  must  be  based  upon  only  such  instances  as  are 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  34 


above  suspicion.  These  authors,  fully  aware  that  the 
text  was  corrupted  with  many  hispanicisms,  assumed  that 
those  words  and  idioms  not  to  be  found  in  their  modern 
Italian  dictionaries  must  of  necessity  be  Spanish  or 
Portuguese.  They  neglected  to  test  the  forms  for  the 
older  Italian  language.  Such  a method  is  very  uncritical, 
but  the  modern  investigator  is  provided  with  better  dic- 
tionaries than  were  some  of  these  pioneers.  I shall  di- 
vide the  hispanicisms  alleged  and  real  into  three  cate- 
gories: i.  Instances  which  undoubtedly  or  probably 

show  correct  Italian  usage,  and  which  have  wrongly  been 
branded  as  hispanicisms.  2.  Instances  of  undoubted  his- 
panicisms. 3.  Instances  which  represent  alike  Italian  and 
Spanish  usage,  but  which  in  a text  which  is  surely  tainted 
with  hispanicisms  arouse  our  suspicion. 

1.  Hispanicisms  Wrongly  Alleged 
The  following  words  which  Bandini,  Canovai  or  Varn- 
hagen  have  branded  as  hispanicisms  are  perfectly  good 
Old  Italian  or  dialectical  forms. 

Folio  1 verso. 

usato,  does  not  necessarily  represent  Spanish  osado  from 
osar;  it  is  rather  the  participle  of  Italian  osare.  The  u 
for  0 is  a common  vulgarism.  There  may  also  have  been 
some  confusion  in  the  scribe’s  mind  between  osare  and 
usare.  Usare  had  been  employed  immediately  above. 
Folio  ii  recto, 
appartino. 

Folio  ii  verso. 

The  verb  distare  does  not  necessarily  represent  Old 
Spanish  distar.  Old  Italian  had  distare. 

fumo  a tenere  una  terra.  Italian  rather  than  Spanish. 

anchorammo. 

stipati. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  35 


surte. 

accordammo,  in  the  sense  “we  resolved.” 
insenata,  a good  Old  Italian  word  for  “bay.”  Does  not 
of  necessity  represent  Old  Spanish  ensenada. 

Folio  iii  recto, 
mediana. 

formose.  Does  not  necessarily  represent  Spanish 
hermosas. 
copercho. 

non  tiene  in  conto. 

miglior.  Varnhagen  betrays  an  ignorance  of  Italian 
when  he  says  this  is  a hispanicism. 

Folio  iii  verso, 
rete. 

coltroni.  A good  Old  Italian  word.  Does  not  of  neces- 
sity represent  Spanish  colchones. 

Folio  iv  recto. 

scusono.  Italian  scusare  had  the  meaning  “avoid”  just 
as  did  Spanish  escusar. 
piggior. 

Folio  iv  verso. 

dolentia.  Merely  the  old  spelling  of  dolenzia. 
divide.  Old  spelling  of  divizie.  Why  did  Bandini 
think  this  Spanish? 

non  le  tenghono  in  cosa  nessuna. 
interrano.  Good  in  Old  Italian. 

interramento.  Probably  good  Old  Italian.  Not  in  the 
dictionaries, 
corichano. 

Folio  v recto. 

alsi.  Certainly  not  Spanish  asi  or  ansi. 

ho  relato.  Old  Italian.  Certainly  not  Spanish. 

allarghero. 

proficto.  Old  spelling  of  profitto. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  36 


Folio  v verso. 

larghi,  in  the  sense  of  “lontani,”  is  good  Old  Italian. 
Folio  vi  recto. 

alani.  Not  necessarily  a Spanish  word. 

Folio  vi  verso, 
senza  conto. 

Folio  vii  recto, 
apparecchi. 

allargharmi  in  epsi.  Probably  good  Italian  at  the  time. 
Nowadays  con  would  be  used  rather  than  in. 

Folio  vii  verso. 

rischattammo.  Why  should  Varnhagen  connect  this 
form  with  Portuguese  resgatar  rather  than  with  the  com- 
mon Italian  verb  riscattare? 
calefatar. 
correggemmo. 

uolta,  in  the  sense  of  “return,”  is  good  Old  Italian. 

Folio  viii  recto. 

captiuauano. 

rimediate. 

Folio  ix  recto. 

annegata.  Good  Old  Italian.  Does  not  necessarily 
point  to  Spanish  anegada. 

Folio  ix  verso, 
commettemmo. 
hauerla  alia  mano. 
facemmo  la  uolta. 

Folio  x recto, 
mandammo. 

uarata  in  un  rio.  Varare  in  Old  Italian  was  used  in 
the  sense  of  modern  “approdare.” 
lo  dauano  di  gratia. 

Folio  xi  recto, 
dispopulate. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  37 


di  poi  che. 

Folio  xi  verso, 
el  poco  damnato. 

Folio  xii  recto. 

perstanno.  Probably  a misreading  for  prestano  as  in 
M.  Perstanno  is  certainly  not  Spanish  though  prestano 
may  be,  in  the  sense  of  “show  profit.” 

Folio  xiii  recto. 

maringare.  This  may  be  an  italianization  of  Spanish 
marear,  but  certainly  the  word  as  it  stands  seems  Italian 
rather  than  Spanish  or  Portuguese, 
tormente. 

intendera,  in  the  sense  of  “will  understand,”  is  good 
Italian. 

Folio  xiii  verso, 
larghi  al  mare. 

Folio  xiv  verso, 
ammainare. 
tormentosa. 
ricontare. 

Folio  xv  verso. 

camera,  in  the  sense  of  “ricovero,”  “ridotto.” 
caragne  may  just  as  well  stand  for  Italian  carene  as 
for  Spanish  carenas.  But  I am  inclined  to  believe  that 
the  reading  of  M is  correct : carnaggio. 
monstro.  Good  Old  Italian  for  mostro. 
reggimento. 

2.  Undoubted  or  Probable  Hispanicisms 
From  the  above  list  it  is  apparent  that  we  can  some- 
what reduce  the  number  of  hispanicisms  claimed  by  Ban- 
dini,  Canovai,  and  Varnhagen.  I shall  now  give  a list 
of  other  words,  phrases,  and  idioms  which  seem  to  me 
undoubted  hispanicisms.  While  it  may  be  that  some  fu- 
ture investigator  will  find  that  a few  of  these,  too,  repre- 

The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  38 


sent  good  Florentine  usage  of  the  early  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, nevertheless  there  will  always  remain  a large  resid- 
uum of  purely  Spanish  words. 

Folio  i verso. 

usada,  where  usata  would  be  the  correct  Italian  form. 
The  d in  the  participial  ending  seems  to  betray  Spanish 
influence. 

ruogho.  Spanish  ruego. 

mando,  as  a noun,  is  pure  Spanish.  The  correct  Ital- 
ian is  mandato,  found  below  on  this  page.  The  M 
scribe  sometimes  substitutes  mandato  for  this  form,  at 
other  times  he  mistakes  it  for  the  preterite  or  present  of 
mandare. 

Folio  ii  recto. 

patragne.  Spanish  patranas. 

di  scanso  represents  Spanish  descanso.  Old  Italian 
discanso  meant  something  very  different.  It  would  be 
defined  by  modern  scampo.  This  seems  a clear  instance 
of  a substitution  of  the  Italian  cognate  discanso  instead 
of  riposo  which  the  sense  demanded  in  order  to  translate 
Spanish  descanso. 

conquerir.  Pure  Spanish.  I can  find  no  Italian  author- 
ity for  conquerir.  We  should  expect  conquistare. 

Calis.  We  should  expect  Cadice  in  Italian.  This  is 
an  example  of  the  interchange  of  d and  / so  common  in 
Old  Spanish.  E.g.  melecina  alternating  with  medecina. 

Folio  ii  verso. 

abrigo.  Pure  Spanish. 

cente,  a misprint  in  P for  conte.  M has  conte.  Seems 
to  represent  Spanish  cuentas.  I cannot  find  that  Italian 
conta  had  the  meaning  “bead.”  In  a very  few  such 
cases  the  forms  may  be  Portuguese,  but  I have  already 
shown  that  there  is  no  sure  instance  of  a Portuguese 
form  in  the  letter. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  39 


Folio  iii  recto. 

ci  dispedimo  di  loro.  Seems  to  represent  Spanish  nos 
despedimos  de  ellos,  “we  took  leave  of  them.”  Dispedire 
is  a good  Old  Italian  form  for  the  modern  spedire,  but 
the  verb  in  Italian  has  a very  different  meaning  from  its 
Spanish  cognate,  and  could  not  have  been  used  in  this 
sense. 

in  questo  leuon  uantaggio.  A purely  Spanish  idiom. 

Folio  iii  verso. 

Leuon  con  loro  le  donne.  Llevar  would  be  the  correct 
verb  to  use  in  this  sense  in  Spanish.  In  Italian  we  should 
expect  menare.  This  very  common  verb  occurs  only 
once  in  the  text. 

leuon  ...  el  mantenimento.  Here  we  should  expect 
the  verb  portare  in  Italian.  This  verb  does  not  occur 
once  in  the  text.  Instead  we  always  have  the  Spanish 
verb  “to  carry.” 

coditia.  Clearly  Spanish  codicia.  We  should  expect 
cupidita. 

cuple(sic),  used  in  the  sense  of  modern  Italian  “con- 
viene,”  “giova.”  This  form  surely  represents  Spanish 
cumple.  True,  Italian  compire  could  be  used  in  the  same 
sense,  but  the  form  here  is  undoubtedly  Spanish.  M has 
failed  to  understand  it,  and  we  find  in  that  text  cimiple 
(sic)  which  seems  to  confirm  cumple. 

uaziano.  Certainly  Spanish  vacian.  Again  M mis- 
understands and  writes  ueggiamo. 

Folio  iv  recto. 

populatione  in  the  sense  of  “town.”  Italian  popula- 
zione  did  not  have  this  meaning,  Spanish  poblazon  did. 

Folio  iv  verso. 

traendoui  una  figliola.  Trarre  seems  to  be  used  in  the 
sense  of  its  Spanish  cognate  traer.  Again  menare  was 
to  have  been  expected. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  40 


Folio  v recto. 

ad  uno  infermo  . . . lo  bagnauano.  This  is  an  in- 
stance of  the  typical  “personal  a”  construction  of  the 
Spanish.  That  is,  the  preposition  a used  as  the  sign  of 
the  direct  object.  M contains  several  other  examples  of 
the  construction.  The  preposition  has  been  blindly  re- 
tained in  the  Italian,  where  it  is  out  of  place. 

lo  cansauano.  We  should  have  expected  stancavano. 
The  form  cansare  is  frequently  used  in  Old  Italian, 
where  modern  Italian  has  scansare,  but  the  meaning  is 
always  “avoid,”  “shun,”  “dodge,”  etc.,  never  “tire.” 

alchuna  dimostra  doro.  Dimostra,  not  an  Italian  word, 
plainly  represents  Old  Spanish  demuestra,  “sign,” 
“indication.” 

Folio  v verso. 

doue  leuamo  grandissimo  pericolo.  A purely  Spanish 
idiom. 

istragho  seems  Spanish  estrago  rather  than  Italian 
strage. 

dismanparate,  and  below  dismamparando.  Purely 
Spanish  words,  misunderstood  by  the  M scribe. 

al  pie  di  in  the  sense  of  “about,”  “nearly.”  The 
phrase  with  this  meaning  is  common  in  Old  Spanish. 
The  form  pie  was  found  in  Italian  as  well  as  in  Spanish. 
The  whole  phrase  is  not  Italian  in  this  sense. 

Folio  vi  verso. 

che  sarebbe  cosa  largha  raccontarle  per  minuto.  Largo 
in  Spanish  means  “long”;  in  Italian  it  meant  “large,” 
“wide,”  “broad,”  “liberal.”  It  never  signified  “long” 
either  in  a literal  or  a figurative  sense.  Substitution  of 
the  cognate  again. 

discansatamente.  Pure  Spanish. 

Folio  vii  recto. 

folgato.  Spanish  folgado.  No  such  word  ever  existed 
in  Italian.  The  nearest  approach  is  folleggiare. 

The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  41 


Folio  vii. 

di  basso  del  represents  Spanish  debaxo  de.  In  Italian 
it  might  have  been  possible  to  write  di  basso  a or  di  basso 
in,  but  sotto  would  have  been  the  natural  preposition  to 
use. 

sauidoria.  Pure  Spanish  where  sapienza  would  have 
been  correct. 

brear,  “to  cover  with  pitch.”  Pure  Spanish.  Spal- 
mare  is  the  Italian  equivalent.  This  is  one  of  those  terms 
of  navigation  which  Vespucci  might  have  used  more 
naturally  than  the  Italian  word.  But  few  of  the  his- 
panicisms  in  the  text  are  of  this  sort. 

stauamo  giunti  con  un  porto.  Giunti  con  here  corre- 
sponds to  Spanish  junto  a,  “near.”  We  should  have 
expected  presso,  vicino  a,  prossimo  a,  or  something  simi- 
lar in  the  Italian.  This  is  proved  by  the  Latin  which 
reads  in  H : prope  portum  unum.  This  I regard  as  a very 
decisive  instance.  Giunto  con  occurs  frequently  in  the 
text  in  a way  that  makes  no  sense.  I cannot  believe  that 
Vespucci,  writing  in  Italian  would  ever  have  used  the 
phrase.  But  supposing  a translation,  it  would  be  natural 
for  a bungling  translator  to  substitute  for  Spanish  junto 
the  Italian  cognate  giunto.  The  preposition  con  was 
frequently  used  as  a complement  with  the  verb  giungere. 

stancar.  The  verb  is  used  as  a Spaniard  would  employ 
estancar  “to  stanch.”  We  should  expect  in  Italian  stag- 
nare  or  ristagnare.  Italian  did  possess  a verb  stancare, 
though  the  better  spelling  is  stangare,  but  this  verb  meant 
something  very  different,  “to  bar.”  Substitution  of  the 
cognate  again. 

Folio  viii  recto. 

tornarli  a loro  terra.  I cannot  find  that  Italian  tor- 
nare  was  ever  thus  used  transitively.  Spanish  tornar 
was  so  used. 

The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  42 


lingue,  in  the  sense  of  “interpreters.”  Old  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  lengua  was  so  used.  The  closest  meanings  I 
can  find  for  Italian  lingua  are  “predicatore,”  “parlatore." 

Folio  ix  recto. 

cauo.  Cauo  is  the  Old  Spanish  orthography  of  cabo, 
“cape.”  We  should  expect  capo  in  Italian.  Cauo  is  the 
invariable  spelling  of  the  word  in  P.  M sometimes  has 
capo.  The  Italian  ancestor  of  H must  have  had  capo, 
hence  the  confusion  between  capo  and  campo  mentioned 
above. 

Folio  ix  verso. 

leuatammo  (sic).  Leuantar  is  a purely  Spanish  verb. 

barlouento.  Spanish. 

Folio  x recto. 

che  fu  per  acerto.  I can  explain  the  last  two  words 
only  as  representing  Spanish  por  acierto. 

allargammo,  “we  released.”  I cannot  find  that  Italian 
allargare  was  ever  used  in  this  sense.  Spanish  alargar. 
was  commonly  so  used  in  the  old  language. 

adonde,  “where.”  Pure  Spanish. 

Folio  x verso. 

molto  a minuto.  This  clearly  represents  Spanish  muy 
or  mucho  a menudo,  “frequently.”  The  phiase  in 
Italian  would  signify  “very  completely,”  which  does  not 
fit  the  context. 

Folio  xii  verso. 

rogaua,  “I  begged,”  “implored.”  Italian  rogare  was 
used  only  in  a very  technical  legal  sense  with  a widely 
different  meaning.  Another  instance  of  two  cognates 
with  very  divergent  meanings  in  the  two  languages. 

merzedes.  This  might  represent  Italian  mercedi,  were 
it  not  that  the  s as  sign  of  the  plural  indicates  Spanish 
mercedes. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  43 


non  fui  aconsigliato  che  venissi.  The  form  suggests 
Spanish  aconsejado  rather  than  Italian  consigliato. 

stessi  buono.  Not  good  Italian.  Represents  Spanish 
estuviese  bueno. 

Folio  xiii  recto. 

derrota,  “route,”  “course.”  A Spanish  word, 
parchi.  Spanish  or  Portuguese  pargos. 
aguazeri.  Spanish  aguaceros.  The  Italian  word 
would  be  acquate. 

turbonate.  Spanish  turbonadas. 

Folio  xiii  verso. 

fatesce.  Spanish  fatexas  or  Portuguese  fateixas. 
accertaua  de  pigliare.  Accertare  is  used  in  the  sense 
of  Spanish  acertar.  The  same  is  true  of  accertorono 
below. 

Folio  xiv  recto. 

doblassimo  un  cauo,  “we  rounded  a cape.”  Italian 
doblare  did  not  have  this  technical  meaning, 
in  cima  delli  arbori.  Spanish  encima  de. 

Folio  xiv  verso. 

cosa  de  minero.  Minero  is  pure  Spanish.  The  Italian 
is  miniera. 

quando  gia  el  sole  sandaua  cercando  alio  equinoctio. 
The  parallel  passage  in  H reads : cum  sol  aequinoctio 
apropinquaret.  Spanish  acercar,  often  spelled  cercar  in 
Old  Spanish,  signified  “to  approach.”  Italian  cercare 
meant  “seek,”  “search,”  “encircle.”  Another  instance  of 
a possible  substitution  of  the  cognate  destroying  the 
sense. 

allarbero  seco,  “with  bare  mast.”  Does  seco  represent 
Spanish  seco  or  Italian  secco?  The  phrase  as  a whole  is 
clearly  Spanish. 

serrazon.  An  unitalian  word.  Spanish  cerrazon, 
perhaps  spelled  serrazon. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  44 


Folio  xv  verso. 

cauezuto,  “stubborn,”  “obstinate.”  Spanish  cauezudo., 

suduest.  Pure  Spanish. 

Folio  xvi  recto. 

surgidero.  Pure  Spanish. 

facemmo  rostro  alia  fortuna,  “we  faced  fortune.” 
“Rostro  in  Spanish  means  “face.”  Italian  rostro  has 
retained  only  the  meanings  of  Latin  rostrum,  “beak,” 
“a  stand  for  speakers.” 

badia,  “abbey,”  represents  a mistranslation  of  Spanish 
bahia,  “bay,”  or  else  an  erroneous  copying  of  the  same. 

The  M version  has  further  retained  a few  hispani- 
cisms  which  P lacks,  showing  that  their  ancestors  were 
even  more  corrupt  in  language.  E.g. : vsadia,  “daring,” 
the  P version  misunderstands  and  confuses  the  passage; 
several  more  examples  of  the  “personal  a”  construction 
of  which  I give  one : tene  all’huomo ; di  donde,  suggesting 
Spanish  de  donde,  where  P has  simply  donde ; non 
prestono,  used  in  the  Spanish  sense  of  “to  be  of  value,” 
where  P wrongly  reads  non  perstanno;  Manuel  where  P 
reads  manouello;  despedi  where  P reads  expedii;  lo  che 
where  P reads  quello  che. 

3.  Less  Certain  Instances 

In  addition  to  these  examples  of  Spanish  influence 
which  seem  to  me  all  but  certain,  there  are  numerous 
other  cases  where  it  is  impossible  to  say  whether  the 
word  belongs  to  the  one  language  or  the  other.  But  in 
a text  like  P where  the  Spanish  influence  is  so  marked, 
we  are  led  to  suspect  hispanicisms  here  too. 

Folio  i verso. 

dipoi  dessere.  We  cannot  say  that  this  is  bad  Italian, 
but  the  influence  of  Spanish  despues  de  is  suggested. 

The  almost  universal  use  in  this  text  of  tenere  with  a 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  45 


direct  object  instead  of  avere  is  strongly  indicative  of  a 
Spanish  original.  In  no  individual  case  am  I willing  to 
say  dogmatically  that  the  Italian  could  not  have  used 
tenere  instead  of  avere,  the  meanings  “to  have”  and  “to 
hold”  are  so  close.  In  the  whole  text  there  are  but  three 
cases  of  avere  taking  the  direct  object.  As  in  Spanish, 
its  use  is  practically  restricted  to  forming  compound 
tenses.  There  has  been  a systematic  avoidance  of  avere 
in  favor  of  tenere,  which  is  very  unitalian. 

Folio  ii  recto. 

mandare,  may  be  either  Italian  or  Spanish. 

Falio  ii  verso. 

circa  di,  “about.”  Good  Italian  but  in  this  text  prob- 
ably represents  Spanish  cerca  de. 

disnuda,  “naked.”  This  form  is  a possibility  in  Old 
Italian,  though  nuda  or  ignuda  would  be  commoner.  In 
this  text  it  probably  represents  Spanish  desnuda. 

in  costa  braua.  I hesitate  to  call  this  phrase  unitalian, 
yet  it  seems  very  much  more  probably  Spanish. 

Folio  iii  recto. 

come  saliron  del  ventre  di  lor  madri.  In  this  text 
salire  is  always  used  in  the  sense  of  Spanish  salir,  “to 
emerge,”  “to  come  out  of.”  It  never  means  “to  ascend” 
as  in  Italian.  Furthermore  the  very  common  Italian 
verb  uscire  or  escire  is  completely  lacking  in  the  text. 
The  only  reason  I do  not  include  salire  in  the  list  of 
certain  hispanicisms  is  because  there  are  proved  instances 
where  Italian  salire  signified  “to  emerge.”  Yet  this 
meaning  was  so  very  rare  that  there  is  no  instance  of  it 
in  Monad’s  chrestomathy  of  Old  Italian  texts.  I there- 
fore consider  this  use  of  salire  another  indication  of  the 
practice  of  substituting  in  the  Italian  words  like  in  form' 
to  those  of  the  Spanish  original,  even  though  divergent 
in  meaning. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  46 


Folio  iv  verso. 

moza  uergine.  Does  moza  represent  Spanish  moza 
or  Italian  mozza?  Probably  the  former.  I have  been 
able  to  find  no  instance  of  Italian  mozza  in  the  sense  of 
“girl,”  but  as  the  dictionaries  give  the  meaning  “boy” 
for  mozzo,  there  may  well  have  existed  a corresponding 
feminine  form. 

Folio  vii  verso. 

uolta,  “return.”  Volta  and  vuelta  could  both  be  so 
used. 

Folio  xii  recto. 

fumo  a dare  con  una  gente.  In  Spanish  dar  con  sig- 
nifies “to  meet”;  in  Italian  dare  con  means  “to  come  to 
blows  with.”  It  is  difficult  to  decide  how  best  to  trans- 
late the  phrase  here,  but  it  seems  to  me  to  be  used  in  the 
Spanish  sense.  The  corresponding  passage  in  H is: 
ad  gentem  quandam  pervenimus. 

donde  is  frequently  used  in  the  sense  of  dove,  “where.” 
This  is  the  usual  meaning  of  donde  in  Spanish,  whereas 
in  Italian  donde  usually  means  “whence,”  only  rarely 
“where.”  That  donde  is  here  a Spanish  word  is  rendered 
probable  by  the  frequently  recurring  adonde,  mentioned 
above.  This  can  only  be  Spanish. 

Folio  xiii  verso. 

cose  di  riscatto.  Good  Italian  words,  but  the  phrase 
strongly  suggests  Spanish  cosas  de  rescate. 

traeua  un  gran  palo.  The  whole  phrase  has  a very 
Spanish  look,  yet  we  cannot  call  it  positively  unitalian. 
Palo  generally,  though  not  always,  had  a more  specialized 
meaning  in  Italian.  Bastone  is  the  word  usually  em- 
ployed in  this  sense. 

Folio  xiv  verso. 

cosa  de  proficto.  Good  Italian  words,  yet  I strongly 
suspect  the  influence  of  Spanish  cosa  de  provecho.  The 
idiom  is  Spanish  rather  than  Italian. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  47 


Folio  xvi  recto. 

dipoi  di  salutata  suggests  Spanish  despues  de  saluada. 

I omit  from  these  lists  numerous  words  belonging 
equally  to  the  Italian  and  Spanish  vocabularies  and  with 
identical  meanings.  Furthermore  many  of  the  examples 
given  occur  frequently  where  I give  but  one  instance. 

Evidence  that  the  Italian  Texts  are  Based  Upon 
A Spanish  Original 

If  the  reader  has  had  the  patience  to  follow  this  un- 
avoidably arid  presentation  of  the  facts,  he  is  now  in  a 
position  to  form  several  conclusions  based  upon  the  ex- 
amples chosen.  First,  we  have  established  the  fact  that 
the  text  contains  few  if  any  Portuguese  forms.  Next, 
we  have  shown  that  many  of  the  forms  believed  by  pre- 
vious investigators  to  be  foreign  were  justified  by  con- 
temporary Italian  usage.  But  it  was  found  that  the  in- 
stances of  undoubted  Spanish  forms  were  indeed  very 
numerous.  So  far  we  can  be  certain  of  the  accuracy  of 
our  conclusions.  The  question  now  to  be  propounded  is 
far  more  delicate.  Were  these  Spanish  forms  such  as 
would  naturally  be  used  by  a Florentine,  writing  in  his 
own  language  after  a residence  abroad  of  fourteen  years? 
It  must  be  remembered  that  Vespucci  was  capable  of 
writing  mediocre  Latin  and  good  Spanish.  Or  are  they 
rather  due  to  some  bungling  intermediary,  translating 
from  a Spanish  original?  This  is  hardly  a question  for 
the  layman  to  decide.  The  matter  should  be  passed  upon 
by  a jury  of  competent  Romance  philologers. 

In  giving  the  Spanish  examples,  the  present  writer 
has  assumed  the  existence  of  such  a Spanish  original,  by 
way  of  a working  hypothesis.  Does  this  theory  explain 
the  facts?  He  believes  that  it  does  and  that  the  peculiari- 
ties of  the  text  can  be  explained  only  on  that  assumption. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  48 


He  believes,  wholly  apart  from  the  statement  to  that 
effect  in  H which  he  regards  as  merely  confirmatory, 
that  there  did  exist  some  Spanish  narrative  upon  which 
the  Soderini  Letter  is  wholly  or  in  large  part  based.  The 
reason  for  this  belief  must  again  be  briefly  stated.  Where 
in  the  two  languages,  Spanish  and  Italian,  there  are 
found  like  or  similarly  spelled  words  with  divergent 
meanings,  the  word  in  P (less  frequently  in  M)  is  al- 
most invariably  Italian  in  form  but  Spanish  in  meaning. 
To  recapitulate  the  most  striking  instances,  it  seems  in- 
credible that  Vespucci,  if  composing  in  Italian,  could 
have  used  as  he  did  the  following  words  and  phrases: 
discanso,  dispedire,  levare,  trarre,  populatione,  al  pie  di, 
largo,  giunti  con,  stancar,  cansar,  per  acerto,  molto  a 
minuto,  rogare,  doblare,  in  cima  di,  cercare,  rostro,  dis- 
nudo,  salire,  dare  con,  and  others.  My  detailed  com- 
ments upon  these  forms  and  their  meanings  may  be  con- 
sulted above.  These  are  precisely  the  sort  of  blunders 
which  a text  critic  recognizes  as  the  errors  of  a translator. 
Vespucci  could  not  have  so  forgotten  his  native  tongue  as 
not  to  know  that  in  each  of  these  cases  the  Spanish  words 
meant  one  thing,  and  the  Italian  cognates  of  them  an- 
other. He  would  have  known,  too,  that  an  Italian  reader 
would  interpret  these  words  and  phrases  in  the  Italian 
way.  The  dilemma  is  unavoidable:  either  Vespucci,  the 
gifted  navigator  and  astronomer,  who  wrote  good 
Castilian,  was  a hopeless  illiterate  in  his  mother  tongue, 
or  else  the  errors  in  the  Soderini  Letter,  of  the  sort  men- 
tioned, must  be  ascribed  to  a translator.  The  present 
writer  cannot  accept  the  first  supposition. 

Then  there  is  the  evidence  of  the  so-called  apocryphal 
letters.  Varnhagen  considered  the  presence  of  hispani- 
cisms  in  a document  ascribed  to  Vespucci  the  touchstone 
whereby  to  determine  its  authenticity.  He  rejects  the 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  49 


three  apocryphal  letters,  because,  as  he  says,  they  contain 
no  hispanicisms.  Now,  if  my  theory  be  correct,  the 
presence  of  hispanicisms  is  no  longer  such  a touchstone. 
However,  Varnhagen  is  again  wrong.  Two  of  the  three 
apocryphal  letters  which  he  prints  do  contain  hispani- 
cisms. Some  of  these  are  the  same  which  occur  in  P, 
such  as  a literary  forger  might  have  imitated.  Others 
are  wholly  new  such  as  no  Italian  forger  could  have  in- 
vented. On  purely  historical  grounds  Luigi  Hughes  and 
Uzielli  contended  that  these  letters  were  authentic.-1 
There  is  a growing  tendency  among  scholars  to  accept 
them,  especially  the  first  two  of  them. 

The  first  of  the  three  letters,  that  printed  by  Bandini 
in  1745,  was  dated  the  18th  of  July,  1500,  and  addressed 
to  Lorenzo  de’  Pier  Francesco  de’  Medici.  In  it  I note 
the  following  certain  or  probable  hispanicisms : al  pie 
di,  Calis,  salire  (“to  emerge  from”),  allegassimo  a terra, 
cavo,  popolazione  (“town”),  di  basso  di,  di  poi  di,  giunti 
con  (“near”),  origlia,  disnudi,  adonde,  mattanza,  gente 
di  pace,  lingue  (“interpreters”),  cansuda  (“tired”),  algo- 
thon  (Spanish  algodon,  “cotton”),  discansare  (“to 
rest”).  The  second  letter,  that  written  to  the  same  patron 
from  the  Cape  Verde  islands  and  dated  the  4th  of  June, 
1501  (first  published  by  Baldelli  in  1827)  contains  only 
the  following:  cauo  and  ad  albero  secco.  Hispanicisms 
are  lacking  in  the  third,  that  written  to  the  same  patron 
from  Lisbon  in  1502  (first  published  by  Bartolozzi  in 
1789)  ; in  fact  the  language  is  correct  Italian.  We  find 
throughout  capo,  instead  of  cauo,  ignudi  instead  of  dis- 
nudi, donde  in  the  sense  of  “whence”  not  “where,”  etc. 
In  fact  I can  find  in  it  nothing  suggesting  Spanish  forms, 
except  perhaps  a tendency  to  use  tenere  instead  of  avere ; 
but  I hesitate  to  call  this  unitalian. 

21  Hughes,  op.  cit. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  50 


This  third  letter  is  the  one  of  the  three  whose  authenti- 
city is  least  probable.  Like  the  others,  it  is  not  an  auto- 
graph. It  contains  nothing  new  in  the  way  of  facts; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  its  information  does  not  stand  in 
disagreement  with  that  of  the  others.  The  second  letter 
which  is  now  generally  believed  to  be  authentic  seems  to 
be  written  in  the  kind  of  Italian  which  Vespucci  might 
be  expected  to  write.  The  few  hispanicisms  in  it  are  not 
of  a sort  to  surprise.  Such  expressions  as  cauo  for  capo, 
and  the  nautical  term  ad  albero  secco  would  be  hispani- 
cisms natural  for  an  Italian  navigator  to  employ.  I find 
here  nothing  suggesting  the  process  of  erroneously  re- 
taining Spanish  cognates  in  the  Italian.  The  language 
as  a whole  is  very  different  from  that  of  P.  While  there 
may  have  been  a process  of  italianization  and  moderniza- 
tion in  the  copying,  I believe  this  to  be  a genuine  docu- 
ment representing  very  closely  the  language  of  the  origi- 
nal which  could  have  had  none  of  the  characteristic 
blunders  of  P.  These,  had  they  existed  in  the  original, 
would  not  all  have  been  smoothed  away  by  later  copyists. 
I conclude  with  regard  to  letters  two  and  three  that  if 
they  are  not  genuine  they  do  not  affect  my  argument  in 
the  least;  if  they  are  genuine  they  offer  evidence,  with  all 
allowance  made  for  italianization  in  copying,  that  Ves- 
pucci was  capable  of  writing  intelligible  Italian. 

With  regard  to  the  first  apocryphal  letter  the  case  is 
different.  It  is  inconceivable  how  Varnhagen  could  have 
failed  to  observe  Spanish  words  in  this  letter.  They  are 
present,  and  his  argument  for  rejecting  the  document  on 
the  ground  that  such  forms  are  not  to  be  found  in  it 
falls  to  the  ground.  While  admitting  that  the  advocates 
of  the  lingua  franca  theory  will  find  an  additional  argu- 
ment in  support  of  their  theory,  if  they  can  prove  the 
authenticity  of  another  document  containing  a few  his- 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  51 


panicisms  similar  to  those  in  P,  nevertheless  it  would  be 
just  as  natural  for  Vespucci  to  send  Lorenzo  de’  Medici 
a translation  in  duplicate  of  a letter  previously  written 
in  Spanish  as  it  would  be  for  him  to  send  such  a letter  to 
Soderini.  I repeat  that  this  was  the  common  labor-saving 
method  employed  by  Vespucci  and  other  early  navigators. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  indicate  the  extremely  compli- 
cated nature  of  this  problem.  One  can  never  hope  com- 
pletely to  elucidate  such  a matter  as  this.  I have  sought 
to  argue  the  case  pro  and  con,  rather  than  to  give  a one- 
sided presentation.  The  reader  may  now  form  his  own 
opinion.  Whatever  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  accept- 
ing the  theory  of  the  existence  of  a Spanish  original  for 
the  Soderini  Letter,  I cannot  but  feel  that  greater  diffi- 
culties confront  the  critic  who  would  contend  that  Ves- 
pucci himself  wrote  the  absurd  jargon  found  in  the 
Italian  versions  of  the  Soderini  Letter. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Introduction 
Page  52 


THE  TRANSLATION 
Prefatory  Note 

All  previous  translations  of  the  Soderini  Letter  into 
English  have  been  made  without  reference  to  or  knowl- 
edge of  the  important  M version.  Most  have  been  based 
upon  P alone.  Yet  any  rendering  of  one  of  our  three 
versions  uncontrolled  by  the  other  two  must  of  necessity 
be  filled  with  error  and  incomplete.  M-K,  the  scholarly 
translator  employed  by  Bernard  Quaritch,  frequently 
availed  himself  of  the  Latin  text,  H,  as  a means  of  con- 
trol for  P ; but  as  he  had  not  seen  M,  he  not  only  was 
deprived  of  the  help  which  that  version  would  have  given, 
but  also  could  not  properly  estimate  the  value  of  H. 
When  P and  H disagreed,  he  possessed  no  criterion 
which  enabled  him  to  decide  which  of  two  variant  read- 
ings to  accept.  Nevertheless  it  is  a pleasure  to  the  pres- 
ent translator  to  acknowledge  the  general  excellence  of 
M-K’s  translation.  He  gratefully  admits  his  indebtedness 
to  it. 

The  translation  which  follows  takes  into  account  all 
three  versions  and  is  based  upon  them  all,  rather  than  on 
any  one  of  them.  Words  or  passages  omitted  by  P and 
supplied  by  M or  vice  versa  are  placed  in  brackets.  The 
notes  will  indicate  from  which  of  the  two  the  reading  is 
taken.  When  H contains  a reading  not  found  in  the 
other  two,  but  which  seems  to  the  editor  rightly  to  belong 
in  the  original  text,  both  brackets  and  italics  have  been 
employed.  The  italics  indicate  that  the  words  thus' 
printed  while  probably  belonging  in  the  text  are  never- 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  i 


theless  open  to  some  suspicion.  I have  not  thought  it 
necessary  to  indicate  either  in  the  text  or  the  notes  nu- 
merous omissions  in  H of  words  or  passages  found  in 
the  Italian  versions.  I have  been  conservative  in  regard 
to  the  passages  supplied  from  H,  not  including  such 
words  or  simple  phrases  as  might  be  ascribed  to  a natural 
redundancy  on  the  part  of  the  Latin  translator.  I have 
given  the  foliation  of  both  P and  M in  order  that  any 
reader  who  may  desire  to  compare  the  text  with  the 
facsimiles  of  these  versions  may  readily  do  so. 

The  notes  published  after  the  translation  have  been 
reduced  to  the  smallest  possible  compass.  I have  seldom 
indicated  variant  spellings  of  the  same  Italian  word,  but 
in  the  main  the  variants  given  are  such  as  would  affect 
the  translation.  These  variants  I give  as  pieces  justi- 
ficative s;  they  also  enable  a scholar  to  check  my  results. 
In  case  I have  chosen  wrongly  between  two  possible  read- 
ings, the  reader  familiar  with  Italian  may  consult  the 
variants  and  form  his  own  opinion. 

The  translation  of  a work  so  barbarous  as  the  Soderini 
Letter  presents  many  difficulties.  The  sentences  are  un- 
grammatical and  involved;  anacoluthons  are  numerous; 
the  thought  is  frequently  confused;  there  is  much  co- 
ordination and  little  subordination  in  the  sentence  struc- 
ture; the  style  is  always  clumsy.  Obviously,  perfect 
literalness  on  the  part  of  the  translator  is  out  of  the 
question.  On  the  other  hand  where  one  is  dealing  with 
a historical  document  fidelity  is  of  more  importance 
than  elegance  achieved  at  the  expense  of  accuracy.  In 
view  of  this  dilemma  I have  deviated  from  literalness 
only  when  it  seemed  strictly  necessary  to  do  so.  I have 
striven  in  the  main  to  be  accurate  rather  than  elegant. 
It  is  therefore  to  be  feared  that  some  of  the  baldness  and 
uncouthness  of  the  original  is  reflected  in  the  translation. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  ii 


FIRST  VOYAGE 


(folio  it,  M) 

[Letter  from  Amerigo  Vespucci  to  Piero  Soderini, 
Gonfaloniere.  The  year  1504] 

(folio  iv,  P)  Magnificent  Lord.  After  humble  rever- 
ence and  due  greetings,  etc.  It  may  be  that  Your  Magnifi- 
cence will  wonder  at  my  rashness  and  the  daring  em- 
ployed, in  that  I should  so  absurdly  bestir  myself  to  write 
to  Your  Magnificence  the  present  so  prolix  letter,  know- 
ing that  Your  Magnificence  is  ever  busied  in  the  high 
councils  and  [troublesome]  affairs  pertaining  to  the  good 
government  of  this  sublime  republic.  And  you  will  deem 
me  not  only  officious  but  likewise  trifling  in  undertaking 
to  write  [to  you , too,]  things  unbefitting  your  rank,  nor  10 
[yet]  pleasing,  in  barbarous  style  and  devoid  of  polite  learn- 
ing, things  [written  expressly  for  Ferdinand,  King  of 
Castile.]  But  the  confidence  which  I have  in  your  virtues 
and  in  the  truth  of  my  writing,  which  has  to  do  with 
things  [that]  are  not  found  written  of  either  by  the  an-  15 
cient  [or  by  the  modern]  writers,  as  Your  Magnificence 
will  perceive  in  the  sequel,  makes  me  bold.  And  the  prin- 
cipal reason  which  moved  [me]  to  write  to  you  arose 
through  the  entreaty  of  the  present  bearer  who  is  named 
Benvenuto  Benvenuti,  our  fellow  Florentine,  greatly  de-  20 
voted  to  Your  Magnificence,  as  it  appears,  and  a very 
good  friend  of  mine;  who,  when  here  present  in  this  city 
of  Lisbon,  besought  me  to  inform  Your  Magnificence 
concerning  the  things  by  me  seen  in  divers  parts  of  the 
world  (fol.  iv,  M)  by  reason  of  four  voyages  which  I 25 
have  made  in  discovering  new  lands:  two  by  order  of 
the  [High]  King  of  Castile,  Don  Ferdinand  the  Sixth, 
westward  over  the  great  expanse  of  the  Ocean  Sea;  and 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  1 


Cn 


two  more,  southward,  by  command  of  the  Puissant  King, 
Dom  Manuel  of  Portugal;  telling  me  that  Your  Magnifi- 
cence would  take  pleasure  in  it,  and  that  in  this  matter 
he  hoped  to  serve  you.  Wherefore,  I set  about  to  do  so, 
5 because  I feel  assured  that  Your  Magnificence  holds  me 
among  the  number  of  your  servants,  when  I recall  how 
in  the  time  of  our  youth  I was  your  friend,  as  now  I 
am  your  servant;  and  we  used  to  go  to  hear  the  rudi- 
ments of  grammar  under  the  good  example  and  teaching 
io  of  the  venerable  monk  of  Saint  Mark,  Brother  Giorgio 
Antonio  Vespucci,  [my  uncle.]  Would  to  God  that  I 
had  followed  his  advice  and  teaching!  [For,]  as  Petrarch 
says:  (fol.  2r,  P)  “I  should  be  a different  man  from 
that  which  I am.”  However  that  may  be,  I grieve  not; 
15  for  I have  ever  delighted  in  virtuous  things,  and  although 
these  trifles  of  mine  may  not  be  befitting  your  merits,  I 
will  say  to  you  as  Pliny  said  to  Maecenas : “Once  upon 
a time  you  were  wont  to  take  pleasure  in  my  prattlings.” 
And  although  Your  Magnificence  is  constantly  busied  in 
20  affairs  of  state,  you  must  occasionally  take  leisure  to  de- 
vote a little  time  to  vain  and  amusing  things;  and  just  as 
it  is  customary  to  give  fennel  atop  of  delicious  viands  to 
fit  them  for  better  digestion,  so  may  you  by  way  of  relief 
from  your  so  numerous  (fol.  2r,  M)  occupations  order 
25  [this  my  letter]  to  be  read,  that  it  may  divert  you 
somewhat  from  the  constant  care  and  assiduous  thought 
which  come  of  public  affairs.  And  if  I shall  be  prolix, 
I crave  pardon.  [Greetings.] 

My  Magnificent  Lord,  Your  Magnificence  doubtless 
30  knows  [that]  the  reason  of  my  coming  to  this  realm  of 
Spain  was  to  engage  in  commerce,  and  that  I persisted  in 
this  purpose  about  four  years,  during  which  I saw  and 
experienced  the  varied  turns  of  Fortune,  and  how  she 
kept  changing  these  frail  and  fleeting  benefits,  and  how 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  2 


at  one  time  she  holds  man  at  the  top  of  her  wheel,  and 
again  hurls  him  from  her,  and  deprives  him  of  that  wealth 
which  may  be  called  borrowed.  So  when  I had  come  to 
know  the  constant  toil  which  man  exerts  in  gaining  it,  by 
subjecting  himself  to  so  many  discomforts  and  perils,  I 5 
resolved  to  abandon  trade,  and  to  aspire  to  something 
more  praiseworthy  and  enduring.  So  it  came  about  that 
I arranged  to  go  to  see  a portion  of  the  world  and  its 
marvels.  Time  and  place  greatly  favored  me  in  this,  for 
it  happened  that  King  Don  Ferdinand  of  Castile,  having  10 
occasion  to  send  four  ships  westward  to  discover  new 
lands,  I was  chosen  by  His  Highness  to  go  in  this  fleet 
to  aid  in  the  discovery.  And  we  set  forth  from  the  port 
of  Cadiz,  the  10th  of  May,  1497,  and  set  our  course  over 
the  great  expanse  of  the  Ocean  Sea,  in  which  voyage  we  15 
spent  18  months;  and  we  discovered  much  continental 
land  and  islands  without  number,  and  a great  share  of 
them  inhabited,  of  which  no  mention  is  made  by  the  an- 
cient (fol.  2v,  M)  writers;  because  they  had  no  knowl- 
edge [of  them,]  I believe.  For,  if  I remember  rightly,  20 
I have  read  in  some  one  of  these  that  he  held  that  the 
Ocean  Sea  was  devoid  of  inhabitants ; and  of  this  opinion 
was  Dante,  our  poet,  in  the  26th  chapter  of  the  Inferno, 
where  he  invents  the  death  of  Ulysses.  On  this  voyage  I 
saw  things  of  great  wonder,  as  Your  Magnificence  will  25 
hear. 

As  I said  above,  we  departed  from  the  port  of  Cadiz, 
four  consort  ships,  (fol.  2v,  P)  and  began  our  cruise 
straight  for  the  Isles  of  the  Blest,  which  are  to-day  called 
the  Grand  Canary,  which  are  situated  in  the  Ocean  Sea  30 
at  the  end  of  the  inhabited  west,  set  in  the  third  climate, 
above  which  the  north  pole  has  an  elevation  of  27  2/z  de- 
grees over  their  horizon ; and  they  are  280  leagues  distant 
from  this  city  of  Lisbon,  [in  which  this  present  work  is 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  3 


written,]  on  the  course  between  south  and  south-west. 
[There]  we  lingered  eight  days,  providing  ourselves 
with  water  and  wood  and  other  necessary  things.  And 
from  here,  having  said  our  prayers,  we  started  and  set 
5 sail,  beginning  our  voyage  toward  the  west,  taking  one 
quarter  by  southwest.  And  we  sailed  until  after  37  days 
we  reached  a land  which  we  judged  to  be  continental, 
which  is  distant  westward  from  the  Canary  Isles  about 
one  thousand  leagues  beyond  the  inhabited  region,  within 
10  the  torrid  zone;  because  we  found  the  north  pole  elevated 
16  degrees  above  its  horizon,  and  westward  of  the  Canary 
Isles,  as  our  instruments  showed,  (fol.  3r,  M)  75  de- 
grees. Here  we  anchored  our  ships  a league  and  a half 
off  land;  and  we  cast  off  our  boats  laden  with  men  and 
15  arms.  We  proceeded  toward  land,  and  before  we  reached 
it,  sighted  many  people  who  were  walking  along  the 
shore,  whereat  we  greatly  rejoiced.  And  we  found  them 
to  be  a naked  race.  They  showed  fear  of  us,  I think 
because  they  saw  us  [clothed]  and  of  an  appearance  dif- 
20  ferent  [from  theirs.]  All  withdrew  to  a mountain,  and, 
in  spite  of  all  the  signs  of  peace  and  friendship  we  made 
to  them,  they  would  not  come  to  converse  with  us.  So, 
inasmuch  as  night  was  already  falling,  and  because  the 
ships  were  anchored  in  a perilous  place,  being  on  a for- 
25  bidding  coast  and  without  shelter,  we  resolved  to  betake 
ourselves  thence  on  the  morrow  and  to  go  in  quest  of 
some  port  or  bay  where  we  might  place  our  ships  in 
safety.  And  we  sailed  north-west,  for  thus  the  coast 
trended,  ever  in  sight  of  land,  continually  seeing  people 
30  along  the  beach,  until,  after  having  voyaged  two  days, 
we  found  a tolerably  safe  place  for  the  ships.  And  we 
anchored  a half  league  from  shore,  where  we  saw  an 
immense  number  of  people.  And  this  same  day  we  went 
ashore  with  the  boats.  And  we  leaped  ashore,  full  40 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  4 


well  equipped  men,  and  the  people  ashore  still  showed 
themselves  shy  of  associating  with  us.  And  we  could 
not  so  reassure  them  that  they  would  come  to  talk  with  us. 
And  this  day  we  so  persistently  endeavored  in  giving  them 
of  our  wares,  such  as  bells,  mirrors,  glass  beads  and  other  5 
(fol.  3V,  M)  trash  that  some  of  them  were  rendered  con- 
fident, and  came  (fol.  3r,  P)  to  converse  with  us.  And 
when  we  had  established  kindly  relations  with  them,  inas- 
much as  night  was  falling,  we  took  leave  of  them  and 
returned  to  the  ships.  And  the  next  day,  when  dawn  10 
broke,  we  saw  that  infinite  hordes  were  on  the  beach ; and 
they  had  with  them  their  wives  and  children.  We  put 
ashore  and  found  that  all  came  laden  with  their  posses- 
sions, which  are  such  as  will  be  told  in  its  place.  And 
before  we  reached  land,  many  of  them  dove  and  came  1 
[to  meet]  us  a cross-bow  shot  out  to  sea,  for  they  are 
very  great  swimmers,  with  just  as  much  confidence  as  if 
they  had  associated  with  us  for  a long  time.  And  we  were 
pleased  at  this  confidence  of  theirs.  [ Inasmuch  as  the  op- 
portunity offers,  we  weave  into  our  narrative,  here  and  in  20 
other  places,  those  of  their  customs  zvhich  we  saw  them 
possessed  of.] 

What  we  ascertained  concerning  their  manner  of  life 
and  customs  was  that  they  go  about  wholly  naked,  men 
and  women  alike,  without  covering  any  shameful  part,  not  25 
otherwise  than  they  issued  from  their  mothers'  wombs. 
They  are  of  medium  stature,  very  well  proportioned. 
Their  skin  is  of  a color  which  inclines  to  red,  like  a lion's 
mane;  and  I believe  that  if  they  went  clothed,  they  would 
be  white  like  ourselves.  They  have  no  hair  at  all  on  the  30 
body,  except  long  and  black  hair  on  the  head,  especially 
the  women,  which  renders  them  beautiful.  They  are  not 
very  fair  of  countenance,  because  they  have  broad  faces, 
so  that  their  appearance  may  be  that  of  the  Tartar.  They 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  5 


Oi 


do  not  let  any  hair  [grow]  in  the  eyebrows  [nor]  in 
the  eyelashes,  nor  in  any  other  place  [whatsoever,]  ex- 
ception made  of  the  hair  of  the  head ; for  they  hold  hair 
to  be  something  ugly.  They  are  very  swift  of  their 
5 bodies,  in  walking  and  in  (fol.  4r,  M)  running,  both  men 
and  women;  for  a woman  recks  nothing  of  running  a 
league  or  two,  as  we  frequently  saw;  and  in  this  they 
have  a very  great  advantage  over  us  Christians.  They 
swim  past  all  belief,  and  the  women  better  than  the  men; 
io  because  many  times  we  have  found  and  seen  them  swim- 
ming along  two  leagues  out  at  sea  without  any  support. 
Their  weapons  are  bows  and  arrows,  very  well  wrought, 
except  that  they  have  no  iron  or  other  sort  of  hard  metal ; 
and  in  place  of  iron  they  put  animals’  or  fishes’  teeth  or 
15  a splinter  of  stout  wood  burnt  at  the  tip.  They  are  sure 
shots,  for  they  hit  wherever  they  please;  and  in  some 
places  the  women  use  these  bows.  And  they  have  other 
weapons,  such  as  fire-hardened  spears  and  other  clubs 
with  knobs  of  most  excellent  workmanship.  They  prac- 
20  tise  war  among  themselves  with  peoples  who  are  not  of 
their  own  speech,  very  cruelly,  without  sparing  anybody’s 
life  except  for  a greater  punishment  (fol.  3V,  P).  When 
they  go  to  war,  they  take  with  them  their  wives ; not  that 
these  may  wage  war,  but  because  they  carry  their  supplies 
25  after  [them].  For  one  woman  bears  on  her  back  a bur- 
den such  as  no  man  will  carry,  thirty  or  forty  leagues; 
for  we  often  saw  it.  It  is  not  their  custom  to  have  any 
captain,  nor  do  they  walk  in  orderly  array;  for  each  is 
master  of  himself.  And  the  occasion  of  their  wars  is  not 
30  desire  of  rule,  nor  to  widen  their  boundaries,  nor  [any] 
inordinate  covetousness;  it  is  due  merely  to  some  old 
hostility  which  in  the  past  [has  sprung  up  among  them. 
And,  when  asked  why  they  waged  war,  they  could  give 
us  no  other  reason  than  that  they  did  so  to  avenge  the 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  6 


death  of  their  ancestors]  or  of  their  parents.  These  have 
neither  king  nor  master  (fol.  4V,  M),  nor  do  they  obey 
anybody;  for  they  live  in  their  individual  liberty.  And 
the  way  in  which  they  are  incited  to  go  to  war  is  that  when 
the  enemy  has  killed  or  captured  some  of  them,  his  eldest 
relative  rises  and  goes  through  the  streets,  exhorting  them 
to  go  with  him  to  avenge  the  death  of  such  and  such  a 
relative  of  his;  and  thus  they  are  stirred  by  pity.  They 
do  not  practise  justice,  nor  punish  the  criminal,  nor  do 
father  and  mother  punish  their  children;  and  whether  or 
not  it  was  something  unusual,  we  never  saw  disputing 
amongst  them.  They  show  themselves  simple  in  their 
speech,  yet  they  are  very  crafty  and  sharp  in  that  which 
comes  within  their  province.  They  speak  little  and  with 
subdued  voice.  They  use  the  same  accents  as  ourselves, 
because  they  form  the  words  either  on  the  palate,  or  the 
teeth,  or  the  lips,  except  that  they  use  other  names  for 
things.  Great  are  the  varieties  of  dialects,  for  at  every 
hundred  leagues  we  found  a change  of  tongues  such  that 
these  were  mutually  unintelligible.  The  manner  of  their 
living  is  very  barbarous,  because  they  do  not  eat  at  fixed 
times,  but  as  often  as  they  please.  And  it  matters  little 
to  them  that  they  should  be  seized  with  a desire  to  eat  at 
midnight  rather  than  by  day,  for  at  all  times  they  eat. 
And  their  eating  is  done  upon  the  ground,  without  table- 
cloth or  any  other  cloth,  because  they  hold  their  food 
either  in  earthen  basins  which  they  make  or  in  half 
gourds.  They  sleep  in  certain  nets  made  of  cotton,  very 
big,  and  hung  in  the  air.  And  although  this  their  way  of 
sleeping  may  appear  uncomfortable,  I say  that  it  is  a soft 
(fol.  5r,  M)  way  to  sleep;  [because  it  was  very  frequently 
our  lot  to  sleep]  in  them,  and  we  slept  better  in  them  than 
in  quilts.  They  are  people  neat  and  clean  of  person,  ow- 
ing to  the  constant  washing  they  practise.  When,  begging 


5 

io 

i5 

20 

25 

30 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  7 


your  pardon,  they  evacuate  the  bowels,  they  do  every- 
thing to  avoid  being  seen;  and  just  as  in  this  they  are 
(fob  4r,  P)  clean  and  modest,  the  more  dirty  and  shame- 
less are  they  in  making  water  [both  men  and  women]. 

5 Because,  even  while  talking  to  us,  they  let  fly  such  filth, 
without  turning  around  or  showing  shame,  that  in  this 
they  have  no  modesty.  They  do  not  practise  marriage 
amongst  themselves.  Each  one  takes  all  the  wives  he 
pleases;  and  when  he  desires  to  repudiate  them,  he  does 
io  repudiate  them  without  it  being  considered  a wrong  on 
his  part  or  a disgrace  to  the  woman;  for  in  this  the 
woman  has  as  much  liberty  as  the  man.  They  are  not 
very  jealous,  and  are  libidinous  beyond  measure,  and 
the  women  far  more  than  the  men;  for  I refrain  out  of 
15  decency  from  telling  you  the  trick  which  they  play  to 
satisfy  their  immoderate  lust.  They  are  very  fertile 
women,  and  in  their  pregnancies  avoid  no  toil.  Their 
parturitions  are  so  easy  that  one  day  after  giving  birth 
they  go  out  everywhere,  and  especially  to  bathe  in  the 
20  rivers;  and  they  are  sound  as  fish.  They  are  so  heartless 
and  cruel  that,  if  they  become  angry  with  their  husbands, 
they  immediately  resort  to  a trick  whereby  they  kill  the 
child  within  the  womb,  and  a miscarriage  is  brought 
about,  and  for  this  reason  they  kill  a great  many  babies. 
25  They  are  (fol.  5v.  M)  women  of  pleasing  person,  very 
well  proportioned,  so  that  one  does  not  see  on  their  bodies 
any  ill-formed  feature  or  limb.  And  although  they  go 
about  utterly  naked,  they  are  fleshy  women,  and  that 
part  of  their  privies  which  he  who  has  not  seen  them 
30  would  think  to  see  is  invisible;  for  they  cover  all  with 
their  thighs,  save  that  part  [for]  which  nature  made  no 
provision,  and  which  is  modestly  speaking,  the  mons 
veneris.  In  short  they  are  no  more  ashamed  [of  their 
shameful  parts]  than  we  are  in  displaying  the  nose  and 


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mouth.  Only  exceptionally  will  you  see  a woman  with 
drooping  breasts,  or  with  belly  shrunken  through  frequent 
parturition,  or  with  other  wrinkles ; for  all  look  as  though 
they  had  never  given  birth.  They  showed  themselves 
very  desirous  of  copulating  with  us  Christians.  While 
among  these  people  we  did  not  learn  that  they  had  any 
religion.  They  can  be  termed  neither  Moors  nor  Jews; 
and  they  are  worse  than  heathen ; because  we  did  not  see 
that  they  offered  any  sacrifice,  nor  yet  did  they  have 
[any]  house  of  prayer.  I deem  their  manner  of  life  to 
be  Epicurean.  Their  dwellings  are  in  common,  and  their 
houses  built  after  the  fashion  of  huts,  but  stoutly  wrought 
and  constructed  out  of  very  large  trees  and  thatched  with 
palm  leaves,  safe  against  tempests  and  winds,  and  in  some 
places  of  such  breadth  [and  length]  that  in  a single  house 
we  found  there  were  600  souls;  [and  we  saw  towns  of 
only  thirteen  (fol.  4V,  P)  houses  where  there  were  4,000 
souls].  Every  eight  to  ten  years  they  shift  their  towns, 
(fol.  6r,  M).  And  when  asked  why  [they  put  themselves 
to  so  much  trouble,  they  made  us  a very  plausible  answer. 
They  said  that]  they  did  so  on  account  of  the  soil,  which, 
when  once  rendered  infectious  and  unhealthful  by  filth, 
occasioned  disease  in  their  bodies,  which  seemed  to  us  a 
good  reason.  Their  wealth  consists  of  feathers  of  many- 
hued  birds,  or  of  little  rosaries  which  they  make  out  of 
fish  bones,  or  of  white  or  green  stones  which  they  stick 
through  cheeks,  lips,  and  ears,  and  of  many  other  things 
to  which  we  attach  no  value.  They  engage  in  no  barter 
[whatsoever]  ; they  neither  buy  nor  sell.  In  short,  they 
live  and  are  contented  with  what  nature  gives  them.  The 
wealth  which  we  affect  in  this  our  Europe  and  elsewhere, 
such  as  gold,  jewels,  pearls,  and  other  riches,  they  hold  of 
no  value  at  all ; and  although  they  have  them  in  their  lands 
they  do  not  work  to  get  them,  nor  do  they  care  for  them. 


5 

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They  are  so  [liberal]  in  giving  that  it  is  the  exception  when 
they  deny  you  anything;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  [they 
are  free]  in  begging,  when  they  show  themselves  to  be 
your  friends.  But  the  greatest  token  of  friendship  which 
5 they  show  you  is  that  they  give  you  their  wives  and 
daughters ; and  when  a father  or  a mother  brings  you  the 
daughter,  although  she  be  a virgin,  and  you  sleep  with 
her,  they  esteem  themselves  highly  honored;  and  in  this 
way  they  practise  the  full  extreme  of  hospitality.  When 
io  they  die,  they  employ  various  sorts  of  obsequies,  and 
some  they  bury  with  water  and  food  at  their  heads,  think- 
ing that  they  will  have  the  wherewithal  to  eat.  They 
neither  have  nor  observe  ceremonies  of  tapers  or  lamen- 
tation. In  some  other  places  they  practise  the  most  bar- 
15  barous  (fol.  6v,  M)  and  inhuman  burial,  which  is  [that], 
when  a sick  or  suffering  person  is  as  it  were  at  the  last 
[pass]  of  death,  his  relatives  carry  him  into  a great  forest, 
and  attach  to  two  trees  one  of  those  nets  of  theirs  in 
which  they  sleep,  and  then  put  him  into  it,  and  dance 
20  around  him  for  a whole  day.  And  at  nightfall  they  place 
at  his  bolster  water  with  other  food  sufficient  to  maintain 
one  four  or  six  days ; and  then  they  leave  him  alone,  and 
return  to  the  town.  And  if  the  sick  man  by  his  own 
efforts  aids  himself,  and  eats,  and  drinks,  and  lives,  he 
25  returns  to  the  town,  and  his  own  receive  him  ceremon- 
iously; but  few  there  are  who  escape;  without  further 
visit  they  die,  and  that  is  their  tomb.  And  they  have 
many  other  customs  which  are  not  related  through  fear 
of  prolixity.  They  use  in  their  sicknesses  various  kinds 
30  of  medicines,  so  different  (fol.  5r,  P)  from  ours  that  we 
marvelled  how  anyone  escaped ; for  I often  saw  how  they 
would  bathe  from  head  to  foot,  with  much  cold  water, 
one  sick  of  fever,  even  when  he  had  one  that  was  rising. 
Then  they  would  build  a great  fire  around  him,  causing 


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[him]  to  be  turned  over  again  and  again  for  two  more 
hours,  until  they  wearied  him  and  permitted  him  to  sleep ; 
and  many  would  recover.  In  addition  to  this  they  make 
much  use  of  dieting,  for  they  remain  three  days  without 
eating,  and  also  of  blood-letting,  but  not  from  the  arm,  5 
only  from  the  thighs,  loins,  and  the  calf  of  the  leg.  Then, 
too,  they  provoke  vomiting  with  herbs  of  theirs  which  are 
put  into  the  mouth;  and  they  use  many  other  remedies 
which  it  would  be  tedious  to  relate.  They  are  much  viti- 
ated in  the  phlegm  and  in  the  blood  because  (fol.  7r,  M)  10 
of  their  food,  which  consists  for  the  most  part  of  roots, 
herbs,  fruit,  and  fish.  They  have  no  seed  of  wheat,  nor 
of  other  grains,  and  for  their  common  [use  and]  diet 
[they  use]  the  root  of  a tree,  of  which  they  make  flour; 
and  it  is  tolerably  good,  and  they  call  it  Iuca;  and  there  15 
are  other  roots  which  they  call  Carabi , and  others,  Ignami. 
They  eat  little  flesh,  other  than  human  flesh;  for  Your 
Magnificence  must  know  that  in  this  matter  they  are  so 
inhuman  that  they  exceed  every  custom  of  the  beasts;  be- 
cause they  eat  with  such  savagery  all  [their]  enemies  20 
whom  they  kill  or  capture,  both  males  and  females,  that 
to  relate  it  seems  a terrible  thing ; how  much  more  to  be- 
hold it  as  it  was  my  fate  to  see  it  at  very  many  times  and 
in  many  places ! And  they  wondered  when  they  heard  us 
say  that  we  do  not  eat  our  enemies.  And  let  Your  Mag-  25 
nificence  consider  this  as  certain.  Their  other  barbarous 
customs  are  so  numerous  that  the  narrative  falls  short  of 
the  reality.  And  because  on  these  four  voyages  [of  mine] 

I have  seen  so  many  things  different  from  our  manners,  I 
undertook  to  write  a book  which  I call  The  Four  Journeys  30 
in  which  I have  related  the  greater  part  of  the  things  by 
me  seen  with  tolerable  clarity,  as  my  feeble  ability  has  led 
me.  This  I have  not  yet  published,  because  I am  so  ill- 
pleased  with  my  own  things  that  I take  no  delight  in  those 


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which  I have  written,  even  though  many  are  urging  me 
to  publish  it.  In  this  everything  will  appear  in  detail,  so 
I shall  not  expatiate  at  greater  length  in  this  chapter ; for 
in  the  course  of  the  letter  we  shall  come  to  many  (fol. 

5 yv,  M)  other  things  which  are  matters  of  detail.  [I  now 
return  to  the  completing  of  this  our  first  voyage  from 
which  I have  digressed  a bit ] ; let  this  suffice  as  to  gen- 
eralities. At  this  the  outset  we  saw  nothing  of  much 
advantage  in  the  land,  except  some  show  of  gold,  [which 
io  several  indications  showed  to  exist  in  that  land.']  I think 
the  reason  for  this  was  that  we  did  not  know  the  lan- 
guage; because,  as  for  the  situation  and  condition  of  the 
land,  this  cannot  be  improved  upon.  We  decided  to  leave 
and  push  ahead  (fol.  5V,  P),  ever  skirting  the  shore, 
15  upon  which  we  made  frequent  landings  and  held  converse 
with  many  people.  And  after  some  days  we  reached  a 
harbor  where  we  underwent  very  great  peril;  but  it 
pleased  the  Holy  Ghost  to  save  us,  and  it  was  in  this 
wise.  We  entered  into  a harbor  where  we  found  a town 
20  built  over  the  water  like  Venice;  there  were  about  20 
large  houses  after  the  fashion  of  huts  based  upon  very 
thick  piles,  and  they  had  their  doors  or  house  entrances 
in  the  form  of  drawbridges  which  they  threw  down  from 
house  to  house.  And  when  the  inhabitants  of  these  saw 
25  us,  they  showed  fear  of  us,  and  speedily  raised  all  the 
bridges,  [and  then  hid  themselves  in  their  houses ] . And 
while  engaged  in  beholding  this  marvel,  we  saw  coming 
over  the  sea  about  12  canoes,  which  are  a kind  of  boat 
of  theirs  made  of  a single  tree,  which  made  toward  our 
30  boats  as  if  they  were  astonished  at  our  form  and  dress; 
and  they  kept  wide  of  us.  And  while  matters  stood  thus, 
we  made  them  signs  to  come  to  us,  reassuring  them  (fol. 
8r,  M)  with  every  token  of  friendship.  And  seeing  that 
they  did  not  come,  we  went  to  them;  and  they  did  not 


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stay  for  us,  but  went  to  land,  and  by  signs  told  us  to  wait 
and  that  they  would  immediately  return.  And  they  went 
behind  a hill,  and  it  was  not  long  before  they  returned. 
They  brought  with  them  16  of  their  girls,  and  with  them 
entered  their  canoes,  and  came  to  the  boats ; and  in  each  of 
our  boats  they  put  four,  so  that  we  were  as  astonished  at 
this  act  as  Your  Magnificence  may  well  believe.  And  they 
thrust  themselves  with  their  canoes  in  among  our  boats, 
coming  along  in  conversation  with  us,  so  that  we  deemed 
it  a mark  of  friendship.  While  thus  engaged,  we  saw 
many  people  who  came  from  the  houses  advance  swim- 
ming over  the  sea ; and  as  they  kept  gradually  approaching 
us,  without  any  suspicion  on  our  part,  straightway  there 
appeared  at  the  doors  of  the  houses  [certain  old]  women, 
uttering  very  loud  outcries  and  tearing  their  hair,  giving 
indication  of  great  sadness;  [on  account  of]  which  they 
rendered  us  suspicious,  and  each  of  us  had  recourse  to  his 
weapons.  And  in  a jiffy  the  girls  whom  we  had  in  our 
boats  dove  into  the  sea,  and  those  in  the  canoes  made  away 
from  us,  and  began  with  their  bows  to  shoot  arrows  at  us. 
And  each  of  those  who  came  swimming  carried  a lance 
below  the  water  in  the  most  covert  manner  possible;  so 
that,  when  the  treachery  was  once  recognized,  we  began 
not  only  to  defend  ourselves  against  them,  but  sharply  to 
attack  them ; and  we  swamped  with  our  boats  many  of 
their  almadie  or  canoes,  for  so  they  call  them  (fol.  8v,  M). 
We  did  much  execution  [among  them],  and  all  took  to 
swimming,  leaving  their  canoes  abandoned;  with  con- 
siderable (fol.  6r,  P)  loss  on  their  side,  they  went  swim- 
ming away  to  land.  About  15  or  20  of  them  died,  and 
many  [remained]  wounded;  and  on  our  side  five  were 
wounded,  and  all  recovered,  praise  be  to  God.  We  cap- 
tured two  of  the  girls  and  three  men;  and  we  went  to 
their  houses,  and  entered  them ; and  in  all  we  found  only 


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25 

30 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
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two  old  women  and  one  sick  man.  We  took  from  them 
many  things,  but  of  slight  value,  and  did  not  care  to  burn 
their  dwellings,  because  it  seemed  to  us  sinful,  and  re- 
turned to  our  boats  with  five  prisoners.  And  we  went  to 
5 the  ships,  and  put  a pair  of  irons  on  the  feet  of  each  of 
the  prisoners,  making  an  exception  in  the  case  of  the 
girls.  And  on  the  ensuing  night  the  two  girls  and  one 
of  the  men  escaped  in  the  cleverest  way  in  the  world. 
And  the  next  day  we  resolved  to  quit  this  harbor  and  go 
io  further  on  our  way.  We  went  constantly  skirting  the 
coast  until  we  saw  another  race  which  might  be  distant 
80  leagues  from  this  other;  and  we  found  it  to  be  very 
different  in  speech  and  manners.  We  decided  to  anchor, 
and  went  ashore  with  the  boats,  and  saw  on  the  beach  a 
15  great  multitude  which  might  amount  to  approximately 
4,000  souls.  And  when  we  reached  the  shore,  they  did 
not  await  us,  but  began  to  flee  through  the  forests,  aban- 
doning [every]  possession  of  theirs.  We  leaped  ashore, 
and  advanced  along  a path  which  led  to  the  wood;  and 
20  at  a distance  of  a bow-shot  we  found  their  huts,  where 
they  had  built  very  great  fires,  and  where  they  were 
cooking  their  (fol.  9r,  M)  food  and  roasting  many  ani- 
mals and  fish  of  many  kinds.  There  we  perceived  that 
they  were  roasting  a certain  beast  which  resembled  a 
25  serpent  except  that  it  had  no  wings,  and  so  ugly  in  ap- 
pearance that  we  wondered  greatly  at  its  fierceness.  Go- 
ing in  this  way  through  [their  houses,  or  rather]  huts, 
we  found  many  of  these  serpents  still  alive;  and  they 
were  bound  at  the  feet  and  had  a cord  around  the  muzzle 
30  so  that  they  could  not  open  their  mouths,  just  as  is  done 
with  mastiffs  that  they  may  not  bite.  They  were  so 
fierce  in  appearance  that  none  of  us  dared  take  one  away, 
thinking  them  poisonous ; they  are  the  size  of  a kid,  and 
an  ell  and  a half  in  length;  they  have  long,  thick  feet, 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
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armed  with  great  claws;  they  have  a hard  skin,  and  are 
variegated  in  color;  they  have  the  snout  and  face  of  a 
snake,  and  from  their  nose  starts  a saw-like  crest  which 
passes  on  over  the  middle  of  the  back  to  the  tip  of  the 
tail;  in  short,  we  deemed  them  to  be  serpents  and  poison-  5 
ous;  and  yet  they  ate  them.  We  found  that  they  made 
bread  of  little  fish  which  they  caught  in  the  sea,  by  first 
boiling  them,  [and  then]  pounding  them  and  making  [of 
them]  dough  or  a loaf,  and  these  they  would  roast  over 
coals.  Thus  they  ate  them  (fol.  6v,  P)  ; we  tried  it,  and  10 
found  that  it  was  good.  They  had  so  many  other  sorts  of 
food,  and  especially  of  fruits  and  roots,  that  it  would  be 
a long  matter  [to]  enumerate  them  in  detail.  And  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  the  people  (fol.  9V,  M)  did  not  return 
[ from  the  forests  in  which  they  had  taken  refuge ] , we  de-  15 
cided  not  to  touch  or  remove  any  thing  of  theirs,  in  order 
the  better  to  reassure  them;  and  we  left  for  them  [in 
these]  huts  many  of  our  things  in  a place  where  they 
could  see  them,  and  returned  at  night  to  the  ships.  And 
the  next  day  at  dawn  we  saw  on  the  shore  numerous  20 
people,  and  we  landed;  and  although  they  showed  them- 
selves afraid  of  us,  nevertheless  they  plucked  up  courage 
[and  began]  to  trade  with  us,  giving  us  all  we  asked  of 
them,  and  showing  themselves  very  friendly  to  us.  They 
told  us  that  these  were  [not]  their  dwellings,  and  that  25 
they  had  come  here  to  fish ; and  they  besought  us  to  go  to 
their  towns,  because  they  wanted  to  receive  us  as  friends. 
And  they  engaged  in  such  friendship  on  account  of  the 
two  captive  men  whom  we  had  with  us  as  prisoners,  who 
were  their  enemies.  So,  in  view  of  such  insistent  entreaty  30 
on  their  part,  23  of  us  Christians,  having  held  a council, 
resolved  to  go  with  them,  in  good  array,  and  with  firm 
intent,  if  necessary  it  should  be,  to  die  [like  brave  men.] 
And  after  we  had  remained  here  [about]  three  days,  we 


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accompanied  them  inland.  And  three  leagues  from  the 
beach  we  came  upon  a town,  tolerably  well  populated,  but 
of  few  houses,  because  [there  were  only]  nine.  There 
we  were  received  with  so  many,  many  barbarous  cere- 
5 monies  that  the  pen  does  not  suffice  to  note  [them] ; 
namely:  dances,  songs,  lamentations  mingled  with  re- 
joicing, and  abundant  food.  And  here  we  spent  the 
night,  where  they  offered  us  their  women  whom  we  could 
not  refuse  to  accept  of  them.  And  after  having  remained 
io  here  (fol.  ior,  M)  the  night  and  half  of  the  next  day,  so 
numerous  were  the  throngs  who  out  of  curiosity  came  to 
see  us  that  they  were  beyond  counting.  And  the  elders 
begged  us  to  go  with  them  to  other  towns  which  were 
farther  inland,  evincing  an  intention  of  paying  us  very 
15  great  honor;  wherefore  we  resolved  to  go;  and  I cannot 
tell  you  all  the  honor  they  did  us.  And  we  went  to  many 
towns  until  we  were  gone  nine  days  on  the  journey,  and 
until  our  fellow-Christians  who  had  remained  on  the 
ships  had  already  grown  anxious  concerning  us;  and 
20  when  we  were  about  18  leagues  inland,  we  resolved  to 
return  to  the  ships.  And  on  the  return  the  people  who 
came  with  us  to  the  sea,  both  men  and  women,  were  so 
numerous  that  it  was  a wonderful  thing;  and  if  any  one 
of  us  grew  wearied  of  the  journey,  they  would  carry  us 
25  in  their  nets  very  comfortably;  and  on  fording  the  rivers, 
which  are  numerous  and  very  large,  they  would  carry 
us  over  by  means  of  their  contrivances  so  safely  that  we 
ran  no  risk.  (fol.  7r,  P)  And  many  of  them  came  laden 
with  the  things  which  they  had  given  us,  which  were: 
30  their  sleeping-nets,  very  rich  plumage,  many  bows  and 
arrows,  and  numerous  parrots  of  varied  hue;  and  others 
they  brought  [with  them]  laden  with  their  own  supplies 
and  with  animals.  What  greater  wonder  can  I tell  you 
than  that  one  considered  himself  very  lucky,  who,  having 


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to  ford  a river,  could  carry  us  on  his  back.  And  as  soon 
as  we  reached  the  sea  and  came  [to]  our  boats,  we  entered 
them;  and  such  was  the  press  which  they  made  to  enter 
the  boats  and  come  to  see  our  ships  that  they  [almost] 
swamped  our  boats  [with  their  weight ] . And  in  the  boats 
we  carried  all  of  (fol.  iov,  M)  them  that  we  could,  and 
we  went  to  the  ships;  and  so  many  came  swimming  that 
we  were  embarrassed  to  see  so  many  people  in  our  ships ; 
for  they  numbered  more  than  a thousand  souls,  all  naked 
and  without  weapons.  They  were  astonished  at  our  gear 
and  contrivances  and  the  hugeness  of  the  ships.  And 
with  them  there  befell  us  a very  laughable  incident,  which 
was  that  we  resolved  to  fire  off  some  of  our  cannon;  and 
when  the  report  burst  forth,  most  of  them  through  fear 
jumped  into  the  sea,  not  unlike  frogs  on  a bank,  which, 
when  they  see  something  terrifying,  jump  into  the  marsh; 
so  those  people  did ; and  those  who  remained  on  the  ships 
were  so  timorous  that  we  repented  of  such  a deed;  never- 
theless we  reassured  them  by  telling  them  that  with  those 
weapons  we  slew  our  enemies.  And  after  they  had  idled 
all  day  on  the  ships,  we  told  them  to  be  off,  because  we 
wanted  to  leave  that  night;  and  thus  they  parted  from  us 
with  much  friendship  and  love,  and  set  out  for  the  shore. 
Among  these  people  and  in  their  land  I learned  and  saw 
so  many  of  their  customs  and  ways  of  life  that  I do  not 
care  to  expatiate  at  greater  length  upon  them.  Because 
Your  Magnificence  must  know  that  on  each  of  my  voy- 
ages I have  noted  down  the  most  marvellous  things  and 
have  brought  all  into  a volume  after  the  manner  of  a 
geography;  and  I entitle  it  The  Four  Journeys;  in  this 
work  these  matters  are  treated  in  detail;  and  as  yet  no 
[copy]  of  it  has  been  published,  because  I must  revise  it. 
This  land  is  most  populous  and  filled  with  people,  and  an 
infinite  number  of  animals;  [and  very]  few  are  like  ours, 


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except  the  lions,  panthers,  stags,  boars,  goats,  and  deer; 
and  even  these  have  some  dissimilarities  of  form;  (fol. 
xir,  M)  they  have  no  horses  or  mules,  nor  saving  your 
reverence,  asses  or  dogs,  nor  any  kind  of  sheep  or  oxen; 

5 but  so  numerous  are  the  other  animals  which  they  have 
(and  all  are  wild,  and  they  employ  none  for  their  service) 
that  they  cannot  be  counted.  What  shall  we  say  of  the 
(fol.  7v,  P)  birds,  too,  which  are  so  numerous,  of  so 
many  varieties  and  colors  of  plumage  that  it  is  a wonder 
io  to  behold  them?  The  land  is  very  pleasing  and  fertile, 
full  of  huge  forests  and  woods,  and  is  always  green,  for 
it  never  loses  its  foliage.  The  fruits  are  so  many  that 
they  are  beyond  number,  and  altogether  different  from 
ours.  This  land  is  within  the  Torrid  Zone,  [close  to  or 
15  under  the  parallel  which  the  Tropic  of  Cancer  describes, 
where]  the  Pole  [has  an  elevation]  above  the  horizon 
of  23  degrees  at  the  extremity  of  the  second  climate. 
Many  races  came  to  see  us,  and  they  marvelled  at  our 
appearance  and  at  the  whiteness  of  our  complexion.  They 
20  asked  us  whence  we  came,  and  we  gave  them  to  under- 
stand that  we  came  from  heaven  and  that  we  were  going 
to  see  the  world ; and  they  believed  it.  In  this  [land]  we 
erected  a baptismal  font,  and  numbers  of  people  were 
baptized.  And  they  called  [us]  in  their  tongue  Caraibi, 
25  which  means  men  of  great  wisdom.  We  quitted  this  port 
(the  province  is  called  Parias),  and  sailed  along  the 
coast,  ever  in  sight  of  land,  until  we  sailed  past  870 
leagues  of  it,  ever  to  the  north-west,  making  many  stops 
along  it,  and  trading  with  many  people;  and  in  many 
30  places  we  obtained  gold  by  barter,  but  not  in  great  quan- 
tity, for  we  did  sufficient  in  discovering  the  land  and  in 
learning  that  they  had  gold.  [And  since]  we  had  (fol. 
1 iv,  M)  been  13  months  on  the  voyage,  and  already  the 
ships  and  the  rigging  were  much  consumed,  and  the  men 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
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wearied,  we  resolved  with  common  accord  to  haul  up 
our  vessels,  and  to  inspect  them  with  a view  to  stopping 
the  leaks,  for  they  were  making  much  water,  and  to  calk 
and  smear  them  with  pitch  again,  and  to  return  thence  on 
the  route  to  Spain.  And  when  we  reached  this  decision, 
we  had  come  upon  a port,  the  best  in  the  world,  into 
which  we  entered  with  our  ships.  There  we  found  numer- 
ous people,  who  received  us  with  much  kindliness.  And 
we  built  on  land  a bastion  out  of  our  boats,  barrels,  casks, 
and  artillery,  which  had  a free  range  in  all  directions. 
And  when  our  ships  were  disburdened  and  lightened,  we 
pulled  them  ashore  and  repaired  them  in  every  way  that 
was  necessary.  And  the  natives  gave  us  the  greatest  help ; 
and  they  continually  provided  us  with  their  food,  so  that 
in  this  port  we  wasted  little  of  our  own,  a great  advantage 
to  us,  because  the  stores  that  we  had  for  the  return  voyage 
were  scanty  and  wretched.  There  we  stayed  37  days, 
and  we  went  frequently  to  their  towns  where  they  paid 
us  the  greatest  deference.  And  when  we  sought  to  leave 
on  our  voyage,  they  complained  to  us  that  at  certain  sea- 
sons of  the  year  a very  cruel  race,  their  enemies,  came 
over  the  sea  into  this  their  land,  and  by  cunning  or  (fol. 
8r,  P)  violence  slaughtered  and  ate  many  of  them;  and 
some  they  would  capture  and  carry  prisoner  to  their  abode 
or  country;  and  they  said  that  they  could  with  difficulty 
defend  themselves  against  them,  indicating  to  us  by  signs 
that  they  were  an  island  people  and  might  be  100  leagues 
out  to  sea;  and  so  earnestly  did  they  tell  us  this  that  we 
believed  them.  And  we  promised  them  (fol.  I2r,  M)  to 
avenge  them  of  all  this  wrong,  and  they  [remained  very] 
pleased  at  this ; and  many  of  them  volunteered  [to]  come 
with  us ; but  we  did  not  wish  to  take  them  for  many  rea- 
sons, except  seven  whom  we  did  take  on  condition  that 
they  would  follow  after  in  canoes,  because  we  did  not  care 


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to  incur  the  obligation  of  restoring  them  to  their  coun- 
try ; and  they  assented.  And  thus  we  took  leave  of  these 
people,  leaving  them  our  very  good  friends.  And  having 
repaired  our  ships,  we  sailed,  for  seven  days  out  to  sea 
5 on  a course  between  north-east  and  east;  at  the  end  of 
the  seven  days  we  came  upon  the  islands  which  were 
numerous,  some  inhabited  and  others  deserted.  And  we 
anchored  at  one  of  these,  where  we  saw  many  people 
who  called  it  Iti.  And  having  packed  our  boats  with  trusty 
io  men,  and  put  in  each  three  rounds  for  the  mortars,  we 
put  toward  shore.  There  we  found  that  there  were  about 
400  men  and  many  women,  all  naked  like  the  previous 
ones.  They  were  of  good  bodily  build,  and  indeed  seemed 
warlike  men,  because  they  were  armed  with  their  weapons, 
15  namely:  bows,  arrows,  and  lances;  and  most  of  them  had 
square,  wooden  shields ; and  they  so  wore  them  that  they 
did  not  interfere  with  their  bending  of  the  bow.  And 
when  we  went  with  our  boats  to  within  about  a bow-shot’s 
distance  from  shore,  all  leaped  into  the  water  [and  began] 
20  to  shoot  arrows  at  us  to  prevent  us  from  jumping  ashore. 
And  all  their  bodies  were  painted  with  various  colors 
and  befeathered  with  plumage.  And  the  interpreters 
who  came  with  us  told  us  that  when  they  presented  them- 
selves thus  painted  and  befeathered  they  gave  sign  of  a 
25  willingness  to  fight.  And  they  persisted  so  long  in  pre- 
venting us  from  landing  (fol.  I2v,  M)  that  we  were 
forced  to  discharge  our  artillery;  and  when  they  heard 
the  report  and  saw  some  of  their  number  falling  dead, 
all  withdrew  to  the  land.  Wherefore,  having  formed 
30  our  plan,  42  of  us  resolved  to  jump  ashore,  and,  if  they 
awaited  us,  to  fight  with  them.  So,  jumping  ashore  with 
our  weapons,  they  came  at  us,  and  we  fought  about  an 
hour,  in  such  a way  as  to  gain  little  advantage  over  them, 
except  that  our  cross-bow-men  and  arquebusiers  killed 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  20 


some  of  them ; and  they  wounded  certain  ones  on  our  side. 
And  this  was  because  they  would  not  stand  to  receive  us 
within  range  of  lance  or  sword ; but  at  last  we  put  forth 
so  much  vigor  that  we  came  to  (fol.  8v,  P)  sword-range. 
And  when  they  tasted  our  weapons,  they  took  to  flight 
over  hills  and  through  forests,  and  left  us  victors  of  the 
field  with  many  of  them  dead  and  a good  number 
wounded.  And  as  for  this  day  we  made  no  further  effort 
to  pursue  them,  because  we  were  very  wearied;  and  we 
returned  to  the  ships  with  such  joy  on  the  part  of  the 
seven  men  who  had  come  with  us  that  they  could  not  con- 
tain themselves.  And  when  the  next  day  came,  we  saw 
coming  over  the  land  a great  number  of  people,  still  with 
the  insignia  of  battle,  sounding  horns  and  various  other 
instruments  which  they  use  in  war,  and  all  painted  and 
befeathered,  so  that  it  was  a very  strange  sight  to  see 
them.  Wherefore  all  the  ships  held  council,  and  it  was 
decided  that,  since  these  people  wished  hostility  with  us, 
we  should  go  to  reason  with  them  and  do  every  thing  to 
make  them  friends;  in  case  they  should  not  desire  our 
friendship,  we  should  treat  them  as  enemies  and  all  of 
them  that  we  might  capture  should  be  our  slaves,  (fol. 
I3r,  M)  And  having  armed  ourselves  as  best  we  could, 
we  put  in  to  shore;  and  they  did  not  oppose  our  landing, 
through  fear  of  the  mortars,  I think.  And  57  of  us  men 
leaped  ashore,  in  four  squads,  each  captain  with  his  com- 
mand; and  we  came  to  blows  with  them.  And  after  a 
long  battle,  having  slain  many  of  them,  we  put  them  to 
flight,  and  we  continued  in  pursuit  of  them  up  to  a town, 
having  captured  about  250  of  them.  We  burned  the  town, 
and  returned  victorious  and  with  250  prisoners  to  the 
ships,  leaving  many  of  them  dead  and  wounded ; and  on 
our  side  only  one  died,  and  22  were  wounded,  all  of  whom 
recovered,  praise  be  to  God.  We  arranged  our  departure, 


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and  the  seven  men,  five  of  whom  were  wounded,  took  a 
canoe  from  the  island,  and  with  seven  prisoners  whom 
we  gave  them,  four  women  and  three  men,  returned  to 
their  land  very  happy,  marvelling  at  our  might.  And  we 
5 too  set  sail  from  Spain,  with  222  slave  prisoners;  and 
we  reached  the  port  of  Cadiz  on  the  15th  day  of  October, 
1498,  where  we  were  well  received  and  sold  our  slaves. 
These  are  the  most  noteworthy  events  which  befell  me 
on  this  our  [first]  voyage. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
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SECOND  VOYAGE 

(fol.  gr,  P)  As  for  the  second  voyage  and  what  I saw 
on  it  most  worthy  of  memory,  the  following  is  the  ac- 
count: [ Beginning  this  voyage , then],  we  left  the  port 

of  Cadiz,  three  consort  ships,  on  the  16th  day  of  May, 
1499,  and  began  our  course  straight  toward  the  Cape  Verde 
isles,  passing  in  sight  of  the  Grand  Canary  island ; and  we 
sailed  until  we  came  to  an  island  which  is  called  the  Isle 
of  Fire.  And  there,  having  taken  on  our  stock  of  water 
and  wood,  we  set  our  course  to  the  south-west.  (fol.  13V, 
M)  And  in  44  days  we  came  to  a new  land;  and  we 
judged  it  to  be  a continent  and  adjoining  that  [of  which] 
mention  is  made  above,  which  is  situated  within  the  Tor- 
rid Zone  and  to  the  southward  of  the  equator,  above  which 
the  South  Pole  has  an  altitude  of  five  degrees  beyond 
every  clime;  and  it  is  500  leagues  distant  from  the  said 
isles  by  the  south-western  course.  And  we  found  that 
the  days  were  equal  to  the  nights;  because  we  reached  it 
on  the  27th  [day]  of  June,  when  the  sun  is  near  the 
Tropic  of  Cancer.  This  land  we  found  to  be  [wholly 
watered  and  full  of  huge  rivers,]  [very  green  and  with 
very  high  trees.]  At  this,  the  outset,  we  saw  no  people. 
We  anchored  our  ships,  and  having  put  out  our  boats,  we 
went  ashore  with  these,  and,  as  I say,  found  the  land  full 
of  huge  rivers  and  [all]  watered  (fol.  gv,  P)  with  very 
large  streams  which  we  discovered.  And  we  approached 
it  in  many  places  to  see  whether  we  might  enter  along  it ; 
and  owing  to  the  great  floods  which  the  rivers  carried 
down,  in  spite  of  all  the  effort  which  we  devoted  to  it,  we 
could  find  no  spot  which  was  not  flooded  [with  water.] 
[We  saw  along  the  rivers  many  indications  that  the  land 
was  peopled.  And  having  seen  that]  there  was  no  land- 


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ing-place  [in  this]  quarter,  we  resolved  to  return  to  the 
ships  and  approach  it  elsewhere.  [And  having  returned 
to  the  ships,]  we  weighed  our  anchors,  and  sailed  between 
east  and  south-east,  always  skirting  the  land,  which  in- 
5 dined  in  this  direction,  and  we  approached  it  in  many 
places  over  a distance  of  40  leagues;  and  all  was  time 
lost.  We  found  that  on  this  coast  the  sea  currents  were 
so  violent  as  not  to  permit  us  to  navigate ; and  all  flowed 
from  the  south-east  to  the  north-west.  (fol.  I4r,  M) 
10  So,  in  view  of  so  many  hindrances  to  our  sailing,  we  held 
council,  and  resolved  to  deflect  [our]  course  to  the  di- 
rection of  the  north-west.  And  we  sailed  along  the  shore 
until  we  came  to  a most  beautiful  port,  which  was  caused 
by  a large  isle  that  was  at  the  entrance,  and  within  was 
15  formed  a huge  bay.  And  while  skirting  the  island  as 
we  sailed  to  enter  it,  we  sighted  many  people;  and  re- 
joicing we  steered  our  ships  thither  to  anchor  where  we 
saw  the  people,  who  were  perhaps  about  four  leagues 
farther  out  to  sea.  And  thus  sailing,  we  sighted  a canoe 
20  coming  from  the  high  sea  in  which  came  many  people, 
and  we  determined  to  capture  it.  And  we  turned  our 
ships  toward  it,  taking  care  not  to  lose  it;  and  as  we 
sailed  toward  it  with  a fresh  wind,  we  saw  that  they  were 
resting  with  lifted  oars,  owing  to  the  surprise  which  our 
25  ships  occasioned,  I think.  And  when  they  perceived  that 
we  kept  gradually  approaching  them,  they  dipped  their 
oars  into  the  water,  and  began  to  sail  for  the  shore.  And 
inasmuch  as  there  was  in  our  fleet  a caravel  of  45  tons, 
a very  good  sailer,  she  took  a position  to  windward  of 
30  the  canoe,  and  when  it  seemed  [to  us]  time  to  bear  down 
upon  it,  she  eased  her  sheets  and  bore  down  upon  it,  and 
we  did  the  same.  And  inasmuch  as  the  little  caravel  came 
abreast  of  it  and  did  not  wish  to  hit  it,  she  passed  it  by, 
and  [then]  remained  to  leeward.  And  when  (fol.  14V, 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
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M)  they  saw  themselves  at  an  advantage,  they  began  to 
ply  their  oars  to  escape;  and  we  who  were  keeping  the 
stern  boats  already  manned  with  capable  men,  thinking 
that  they  would  take  it,  [ speedily  advanced  against  them ] . 
They  toiled  more  than  two  hours,  and  at  last,  if  the  little 
caravel  (fol.  ior,  P)  had  not  turned  upon  it  another 
time,  we  should  have  lost  it.  And  when  they  saw  them- 
selves hard  pressed  by  the  caravel  and  by  the  boats,  all, 
who  might  number  70  men,  dove  into  the  sea;  and  they 
were  distant  from  land  about  two  leagues.  And  pursuing 
them  in  boats,  during  the  whole  day  we  could  capture  only 
two,  which  was  due  to  chance ; the  others  all  got  ashore  in 
safety.  In  the  canoe  remained  four  youths,  not  of  their 
race,  whom  they  were  bringing  captive  from  [the]  other 
shore;  and  they  had  castrated  them,  for  all  were  without 
the  [virile]  member,  and  the  wound  was  fresh,  at  which 
we  marvelled  much.  When  brought  aboard  ship,  they 
told  us  by  signs  that  their  enemies  had  taken  them  in 
order  to  eat  them ; and  we  learned  [that]  they  were  a race 
called  Caniballi,  and  very  cruel,  because  they  eat  human 
flesh.  We  went  with  the  ships  toward  land,  taking  with 
us  the  canoe  which  we  towed  at  the  stern,  and  anchored 
a half  league  off.  And  as  we  saw  many  people  ashore  on 
the  beach,  we  landed  with  the  boats,  and  took  with  us  the 
two  men  whom  we  captured.  And  when  we  reached 
shore,  all  the  people  fled  and  entered  the  forests.  And 
we  released  one  of  the  men,  giving  him  many  bells, 
[ cymbals , and  some  mirrors,  and  told  him  to  go  and  reas- 
sure the  people  who  had  run  away],  since  we  wished  to 
be  their  friends.  He  did  (fol.  I5r,  M)  very  well  [what] 
we  ordered  him,  and  brought  [with  him]  all  the  people, 
who  might  number  400  men  and  many  women.  They 
came  without  any  weapons  to  the  place  where  we  stood 
with  the  boats;  and  having  established  good  friendship 


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with  them,  we  surrendered  to  them  the  other  prisoner, 
and  sent  to  the  ships  for  their  canoe,  and  gave  it  to  them. 
This  canoe  was  26  paces  long,  and  wide  as  two  arms  can 
stretch,  and  all  dug  out  of  a single  tree,  and  very  well 
5 wrought.  And  when  they  had  grounded  it  in  a stream, 
and  put  it  in  a safe  place,  all  ran  away  and  would  have 
nothing  more  to  do  with  us,  which  seemed  to  us  a wholly 
brutal  act,  so  that  we  judged  them  a race  of  little  faith 
and  of  evil  disposition.  We  perceived  that  these  people 
10  had  in  their  ears  some  slight  amount  of  gold.  We  de- 
parted hence,  and  [having  sailed  along  the  coast  about 
80  leagues , found  a certain  safe  ship  anchorage.']  We 
entered  inside  the  bay,  where  we  found  so  many  people 
that  it  was  a wonder.  We  established  friendship  with 
1 5 these,  on  shore,  and  many  of  us  went  very  safely  to  their 
towns,  and  were  well  received.  At  this  spot  we  traded 
for  150  pearls,  which  they  gave  us  for  a bell,  and  for 
some  little  gold  which  they  gave  us  gratis;  and  in  this 
land  we  learned  that  they  drank  wine  made  of  their 
20  fruits  and  seeds,  like  beer,  both  white  and  red;  and  the 
best  was  made  of  mirabolani,  and  was  very  good;  and 
(fol.  iov,  P)  of  these  last  we  ate  many,  for  it  was  the 
season  for  them;  it  is  a very  good  fruit,  savory  to  the 
taste  and  healthful  to  the  body.  The  soil  is  very  bounti- 
25  ful  in  yielding  them  what  they  require,  and  the  people  of 
kindly  intercourse,  and  the  most  peaceful  that  we  have 
found  up  to  the  present,  (fol.  15V,  M)  We  remained  in 
this  port  17  days  with  much  enjoyment;  and  every  day 
new  peoples  from  the  inland  country  came  to  see  us, 
30  marvelling  at  our  appearance  and  whiteness,  our  dress 
and  weapons,  and  the  shape  and  hugeness  of  the  ships. 
From  these  people  we  obtained  news  that  there  was  a 
tribe  more  to  the  west,  their  enemies,  who  had  an  infinite 
abundance  of  pearls,  and  that  those  which  they  them- 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  26 


selves  had  were  the  ones  they  had  taken  from  them  in 
their  wars ; and  they  told  us  how  they  fished  for  them  and 
in  what  manner  they  grew ; and  we  found  that  they  were 
truly  informed,  as  Your  Magnificence  will  hear.  We  de- 
parted from  this  port,  and  sailed  along  the  coast,  along 
which  we  constantly  saw  smoke  or  people  on  the  beach. 
And  after  many  days,  we  put  into  a harbor,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  repairing  one  of  our  ships  which  was  making 
much  water.  There  we  found  many  people  with  whom 
we  could  not,  either  by  force  or  kindness  have  any  deal- 
ings. And  whenever  we  would  go  ashore  [in  the  boats], 
they  would  sharply  defend  the  land  against  us ; and  when 
they  could  accomplish  nothing  further,  they  would  flee 
through  the  forests,  and  would  not  await  us.  Having 
found  them  to  be  so  barbarous,  we  departed  hence,  and,  in 
the  course  of  our  sailing,  sighted  an  island  which  was  1 5 
leagues  distant  from  land,  out  at  sea,  and  resolved  to  go 
to  see  whether  it  was  inhabited.  [Speeding  toward  it, 
therefore'] , we  found  on  it  the  most  bestial  and  ugly  people 
that  were  ever  seen,  [and  also  the  most  lovable  and  kind]  ; 
and  it  was  in  this  wise.  They  were  (fol.  i6r,  M)  very 
ugly  of  demeanor  and  countenance,  and  all  had  their 
cheeks  stuffed  out  inside  with  a green  grass  which  they 
continually  chewed  like  cattle,  so  that  they  could  scarcely 
speak ; and  each  had  around  his  neck  two  dry  gourds,  one 
of  which  was  filled  with  that  grass  which  they  had  in  their 
mouths,  and  the  other  with  a white  flour  which  seemed 
like  powdered  chalk;  and  from  time  to  time  they  would 
dip  into  the  flour- [gourd]  a splinter  which  they  would 
keep  moistening  in  the  mouth;  then  they  would  insert  it 
into  their  mouths  [on  both  sides  of  the  cheeks,  powdering 
the  grass  which  they  had  in  their  mouths]  ; and  this  they 
would  do  very  frequently.  And  astonished  at  such  a 
thing,  we  could  not  guess  this  secret,  nor  for  what 


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purpose  they  did  so.  These  people,  when  they  saw  us, 
came  to  us  just  as  familiarly  as  (fol.  nr,  P)  if  we  had 
been  on  terms  of  friendship  with  them  [for  a long  time]. 
We  would  go  along  the  beach,  conversing  with  them,  and 
5 when  we  desired  to  drink  fresh  water,  they  would  make 
us  signs  that  they  had  none,  and  would  offer  [us]  some 
of  that  grass  and  flour  of  theirs,  so  that  we  reasoned 
that  this  isle  was  poor  in  water,  and  that  to  assuage  their 
thirst  they  kept  that  grass  in  the  mouth,  and  the  flour 
io  for  this  very  same  reason.  We  went  over  the  island  for 
a day  and  a half  without  ever  finding  fresh  water;  and 
we  perceived  that  the  water  which  they  drank  was  dew 
which  fell  by  night  upon  certain  leaves  which  resembled 
a donkey’s  ears ; and  these  were  filled  with  water,  and  of 
15  this  they  drank;  it  was  excellent  water;  and  they  did  not 
have  these  leaves  in  many  places.  They  had  no  manner 
of  food  or  roots  (fol.  i6v,  M)  such  as  those  [on]  the 
mainland  had,  and  they  fed  upon  fish  which  they  caught 
in  the  sea;  of  these  they  had  a great  plenty,  and  they 
20  were  famous  fishermen;  because  they  presented  us  with 
many  tortoises  and  numerous  very  excellent  big  fish. 
Their  women  did  not  have  the  custom  of  keeping  grass 
in  their  mouths  like  the  men,  but  all  had  water  gourds, 
and  of  this  they  would  drink.  They  had  no  town  either 
25  of  houses  or  huts,  but  dwelt  under  bowers  which  protected 
them  against  the  sun,  but  not  against  rain;  for  I think 
[that]  it  seldom  rained  in  that  isle.  When  they  were 
fishing  by  the  sea,  all  had  leaves,  very  big  and  of  such 
breadth  that  they  were  shaded  beneath  them;  and  this 
30  they  would  set  up  in  the  ground,  and  just  as  the  sun 
turned,  so  would  they  turn  the  leaf;  and  thus  they  pro- 
tected themselves  against  the  sun.  The  isle  contains 
many  animals  of  various  kinds,  and  these  drink  swamp 
water.  Seeing  that  they  had  nothing  of  value,  we  de- 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
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parted  and  went  to  another  isle;  and  we  found  that  in  it 
dwelt  a very  tall  race.  We  landed  one  day  to  see  whether 
we  might  find  fresh  water;  and  thinking  that  the  isle  was 
uninhabited,  because  we  saw  no  people,  while  walking 
along  the  beach,  we  saw  human  footprints  of  huge  size 
in  the  sand,  so  that  we  judged  [that]  if  the  other  limbs 
corresponded  to  this  measure,  (fol.  I7r,  M)  they  must  be 
very  large  men.  And  while  on  our  walk,  we  came  upon 
a path  which  led  inland;  and  nine  of  us  agreed  in  the 
opinion  that,  because  the  isle  was  little,  it  could  not  con- 
tain many  people;  [and  therefore  we  penetrated  it]  to  see 
what  race  that  was.  And  after  we  had  gone  about  a 
league,  we  saw  in  a valley  five  of  their  huts  which  ap- 
peared to  us  uninhabited,  and  we  advanced  up  to  them. 
And  we  found  only  five  women,  two  (fol.  nv,  P)  old 
women  and  three  girls,  of  such  tall  stature  that  out  of 
astonishment  we  stood  looking  at  them.  And  when  they 
saw  us,  such  fear  entered  them  that  they  had  no  courage 
to  flee.  And  the  two  old  women  began  with  words  to 
offer  us  hospitality,  bringing  us  many  things  to  eat,  and 
led  us  into  a hut.  And  they  were  taller  of  stature  than  a 
tall  man,  for  indeed  they  must  have  been  as  tall  of  body 
as  was  Francesco  degli  Albizzi,  but  better  proportioned; 
so  we  were  all  resolved  to  carry  off  the  three  girls  by 
force,  and  take  them  to  Castile  as  a curiosity.  And  while 
engaged  in  this  conversation,  there  began  to  enter  through 
the  door  of  the  hut  full  36  men,  much  taller  than  the 
women,  men  so  well  built  that  it  was  a splendid  thing  to 
see  them.  These  threw  us  into  such  perturbation  that 
sooner  would  we  have  been  on  shipboard  than  find  our- 
selves with  such  people.  They  carried  huge  bows  and 
arrows  and  great  knobbed  clubs.  And  they  spoke  to  one 
another  in  a tone  which  seemed  to  indicate  a desire  to 
lay  hands  upon  us.  (fol.  17V,  M)  Beholding  ourselves 


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in  such  peril,  we  took  various  counsel  with  one  another; 
some  said  that  we  should  begin  to  attack  them  indoors, 
others  [not,  for]  it  was  better  in  the  open;  and  others 
there  were  who  said  that  we  should  not  begin  the  dispute 
5 until  we  should  see  what  they  intended  to  do ; and  we  de- 
cided to  leave  the  hut,  and  depart  secretly  by  the  path 
leading  to  the  ships;  and  so  we  did.  And  taking  to  our 
path,  we  returned  to  the  ships;  they  followed  after  us, 
always  a stone’s  throw  away,  talking  to  one  another.  I 
io  think  they  had  no  less  fear  of  us  than  we  of  them;  be- 
cause occasionally  we  would  stop,  and  they  would  do  the 
same  without  drawing  nearer  to  us,  until  we  reached  the 
beach  where  the  boats  were  awaiting  us.  We  entered 
them,  and  when  we  had  cast  off,  they  rushed  forward 
1 5 and  shot  many  arrows  at  us.  But  we  now  had  little  fear 
of  them ; we  fired  two  mortar  shots  at  them,  more  to  ter- 
rify than  to  hurt  them;  and  at  the  report  all  fled  to  the 
hill.  And  thus  we  took  leave  of  them,  which  seemed  to 
us  like  escaping  from  [a]  perilous  battle.  They  were 
20  altogether  naked  like  the  others.  We  named  this  island 
the  Isle  of  Giants,  because  of  their  huge  size.  And  we 
continued  onward,  [still]  skirting  the  coast,  where  it 
was  often  our  lot  to  fight  with  them,  because  they  would 
not  consent  to  let  us  take  anything  from  the  land.  And 
25  we  were  now  desirous  of  returning  to  Castile,  because  we 
had  been  about  a year  at  sea  and  had  few  supplies,  (fol. 
i8r,  M)  and  that  little  spoiled  by  the  great  heat  which 
we  endured;  because  (fol.  I2r,  P)  from  the  time  when 
we  set  out  from  the  Cape  Verde  islands  up  to  the  present, 
30  we  had  constantly  sailed  through  the  Torrid  Zone  and 
had  twice  crossed  the  equator;  for  as  I said  above,  we 
went  beyond  it  five  degrees  to  the  south,  and  here  we  were 
at  15  degrees  north  latitude.  While  considering  these 
things,  the  Holy  Ghost  was  pleased  to  grant  some  respite 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
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to  our  numerous  hardships ; which  was  that,  while  on  our 
way  to  seek  a port  where  we  might  mend  our  vessels,  we 
fell  in  with  a people  who  received  us  with  much  kindness ; 
and  we  found  that  they  had  an  immense  quantity  of  ori- 
ental pearls,  and  quite  good  ones.  With  them  we  lingered  5 
47  days;  and  by  barter  we  obtained  from  them  1 19  marks 
of  pearls  for  a very  slight  amount  of  merchandise ; for  I 
think  they  did  not  cost  us  the  value  of  40  ducats ; because 
what  we  gave  them  was  only  bells,  mirrors,  glass  beads, 
and  sheets  of  copper;  for  in  return  for  a single  bell  one  10 
would  give  all  the  pearls  he  had.  From  them  we  learned 
how  they  fished  for  them  and  where;  and  they  gave  us 
many  oysters  in  which  they  were  formed.  We  bought 
one  oyster  in  which  there  were  formed  130  pearls,  and 
others  with  a lesser  number.  This  oyster  of  the  130  pearls  15 
the  queen  deprived  me  of,  and  [the]  rest  I took  care  [she 
should  not  see.]  And  Your  Magnificence  must  know 
that  if  the  pearls  are  not  mature  and  do  not  detach  them- 
selves of  their  own  accord,  they  are  of  no  value,  because 
they  soon  spoil;  and  of  this  I am  an  eye-witness.  When  20 
they  are  mature,  they  are  inside  the  oyster,  detached  and 
sunk  into  the  flesh,  (fol.  i8v,  M)  and  these  are  good. 

All  the  bad  ones  which  they  had,  most  of  which  were 
nicked  and  badly  perforated,  were  nevertheless  worth 
good  money,  because  a mark  sold  for  [60  maravedis.]  2-5 
And  after  47  days  we  left  these  people  very  friendly  dis- 
posed toward  us.  We  set  forth,  and,  owing  to  our  need 
of  provisions,  we  made  the  island  of  Antilles,  which  is  the 
one  that  Christopher  Columbus  discovered  several  years 
ago.  There  we  took  on  a good  stock  of  stores,  and  re-  30 
mained  two  months  and  17  days.  There  we  suffered 
many  perils  and  hardships  with  those  self-same  Christians 
who  were  in  this  island  with  Columbus,  out  of  envy,  I 
think.  I refrain  from  recounting  them,  so  as  not  to  be 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
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prolix.  We  left  the  said  island  on  the  22nd  day  of  July, 
and  sailed  for  a month  and  a half,  and  entered  the  port 
of  Cadiz,  which  was  on  the  8th  day  of  September,  where 
[we  were  well  received  with  honor  and  profit.  Thus 
5 was  ended]  my  second  voyage.  God  be  praised. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
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THIRD  VOYAGE 

(fol.  I2v,  P)  Later  being  in  Seville,  resting  from  the 
numerous  hardships  which  I had  suffered  in  these  two 
voyages,  and  desirous  of  returning  to  the  land  of  pearls, 
it  was  then  that  fortune,  not  content  with  my  sufferings, 
brought  it  about,  I do  not  know  how,  that  the  desire  to 
make  use  of  me  entered  the  thought  of  this  most  serene 
king,  Dom  Manuel  of  Portugal.  And  while  I was  in 
Seville,  far  from  any  thought  of  coming  to  Portugal, 
there  came  to  me  a messenger  with  his  royal  crown  letter, 
which  implored  me  to  come  to  Lisbon  to  talk  with  His 
Highness,  promising  to  do  me  favors.  I was  not  disposed 
to  go;  I dismissed  the  messenger,  saying  that  I was  ill, 
and  that  when  I should  be  well,  if  His  Highness  still 
wanted  to  use  me,  I should  do  all  that  he  might  order  me. 
And  (fol.  I9r,  M)  seing  that  he  could  not  get  me,  he 
decided  to  send  for  me  [through]  Giuliano  di  Bartho- 
lomeo  del  Giocondo,  here  resident  in  Lisbon,  with  orders 
to  bring  me  by  one  means  or  another.  The  said  Giuliano 
came  to  Seville;  through  [his]  coming  and  entreaty  I was 
forced  to  go;  yet  my  going  was  taken  amiss  by  all  who 
knew  me;  because  I left  Castile  where  honor  had  been 
shown  me  and  the  king  held  me  in  good  repute.  The 
worst  of  it  was  that  I left  without  saluting  my  host.  And 
when  I presented  myself  before  this  king,  he  showed 
pleasure  at  my  coming,  and  urged  me  to  go  in  an  expedi- 
tion of  three  of  his  ships  which  were  (fol.  I3r,  P)  ready 
to  go  to  discover  new  lands.  And  as  a king’s  request  is 
a command,  I had  [to]  consent  to  all  he  asked  of  me. 
And  we  left  this  port  of  Lisbon,  three  consort  ships,  the 
ioth  day  of  May,  1501,  and  set  our  course  straight  for 
the  Grand  Canary  Isles;  and  we  passed  in  sight  of  them 


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without  stopping.  And  from  this  point  we  kept  skirting 
the  coast  of  Africa  on  the  western  side,  off  which  coast 
we  made  our  catch  of  a kind  of  fish  which  are  called 
parghi ; there  we  stopped  three  days.  And  from  here  we 
5 went  to  a port  called  Besechicce  on  the  coast  of  Ethiopia, 
which  is  within  the  Torrid  Zone,  over  which  the  North 
Pole  has  an  elevation  of  14  and  a half  degrees;  it  is 
situated  in  the  first  climate.  There  we  lingered  1 1 days, 
taking  on  water  and  wood;  because  my  intention  was 
10  to  navigate  toward  the  south  over  the  Atlantic  Gulf.  We 
left  this  port  of  Ethiopia,  and  (fol.  19V,  M)  sailed  to 
the  south-west,  taking  a quarter  point  to  the  south,  until, 
after  67  days,  we  came  to  a land  which  was  700  leagues 
distant  to  the  south-west  from  the  said  port.  During 
15  those  67  days  we  experienced  the  worst  weather  that 
ever  man  who  sailed  the  sea  encountered,  owing  to  the 
many  rains,  storms  and  tempests  which  beset  us ; because 
we  were  in  a very  unpropitious  season,  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  greater  part  of  our  navigation  was  ever  near 
20  the  equator,  where  in  the  month  of  June  it  is  winter: 
And  we  found  the  days  equal  to  the  nights,  and  shadows 
always  cast  toward  [the]  south.  It  pleased  God  to  reveal 
to  us  a new  land,  and  this  was  on  the  17th  day  of  August. 
There  we  anchored  at  a distance  of  a league  and  a half 
25  [from  it,]  and  put  out  our  boats,  and,  taking  a few  bells, 
went  to  inspect  the  land  to  see  whether  it  was  inhabited 
with  human  beings  and  what  it  was  like.  And  we  found 
that  [it]  was  inhabited  by  people  who  were  worse  than 
brutes  just  as  Your  Magnificence  will  understand.  At 
30  this  the  outset  we  saw  no  people,  but  we  knew  well  that 
it  was  peopled  through  the  many  indications  which  we 
saw  therein.  We  took  possession  of  it  for  this  most 
serene  king.  We  found  it  a very  pleasing,  green  [land], 
and  of  fair  appearance;  it  was  five  degrees  south  of  the 


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equator.  And  for  this  day  we  returned  to  the  ships.  And 
because  we  had  much  need  of  water  and  wood,  we  decided 
to  put  ashore  next  day  [to]  provide  [ourselves]  with  the 
necessaries.  And  while  ashore,  we  saw  some  people  on  a 
hill-top  who  remained  gazing  [at  us]  and  dared  not  de- 
scend. They  were  naked,  and  of  the  same  (fol.  2or,  M) 
color  and  form  as  those  seen  in  the  past.  And  though  we 
exerted  ourselves  with  them  to  make  them  come  to  talk 
with  us,  never  could  we  reassure  them,  for  they  would 
place  no  trust  in  us;  and  in  view  of  their  obstinacy,  and 
because  it  was  already  late,  we  returned  thence  to  the 
ships,  leaving  ashore  for  them  where  they  could  see  them 
many  bells,  (fol.  13V,  P)  mirrors,  and  other  things.  And 
when  we  were  out  at  sea,  they  descended  from  the  hill, 
and  came  for  the  things  which  we  had  left  them,  showing 
great  surprise  at  them.  And  as  for  this  day,  we  provided 
ourselves  with  nothing  but  water.  The  next  morning  we 
saw  from  the  ships  that  the  people  ashore  were  making 
many  smoke  signals;  and  we,  thinkihg  that  they  were 
calling  us,  landed,  and  when  there  found  that  many  tribes 
had  come,  and  they  always  kept  at  a distance  from  us ; and 
they  motioned  to  us  to  accompany  them  inland.  Where- 
fore two  of  our  Christians  were  moved  to  ask  the  captain 
to  grant  them  permission;  for  they  were  willing  to  risk 
going  inland  with  them  to  see  what  people  they  were,  and 
whether  they  had  any  wealth  of  spices  or  drugs.  And 
they  begged  so  hard  that  the  captain  consented;  and  they 
equipped  themselves  with  many  articles  of  barter,  and 
they  took  leave  of  us  under  orders  not  to  be  more  than 
five  days  in  returning,  because  so  long  we  would  wait  for 
them.  And  they  took  their  way  inland,  and  we  [re- 
mained] on  the  ships  and  waited  for  them  [six  days.] 
And  almost  every  day  many  people  came  to  the  beach, 
but  never  would  they  converse  with  us.  And  the  seventh 


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day  we  landed,  (fol.  20V,  M)  and  found  that  they  had 
brought  their  women  with  them.  And  when  we  jumped 
ashore,  the  men  of  the  land  sent  many  of  their  women 
to  talk  with  us.  And  seeing  that  they  did  not  take  cour- 
5 age,  we  decided  to  send  to  them  one  of  our  men  who 
was  a very  agile  and  energetic  youth;  and  we,  to  give 
them  [greater]  confidence,  entered  the  boats.  And  he 
went  among  the  women,  and  when  he  approached  them, 
they  made  a great  circle  around  him;  and  touching  him 
io  and  gazing  at  him,  they  displayed  their  wonder.  Mean- 
while we  saw  a woman  approaching  from  the  hill,  and 
she  carried  a big  club  in  her  hand.  And  when  she 
reached  the  place  where  our  Christian  stood,  she  came 
up  behind  him,  and,  raising  her  club,  struck  him  such  a 
15  hard  blow  that  she  stretched  him  out  dead  on  the  ground. 
In  a jiffy  the  other  women  seized  him  by  the  feet,  and 
dragged  him  [by  the  feet]  toward  the  hill;  and  the  men 
sprang  toward  the  beach,  [and  began]  to  shoot  at  us 
with  their  bows  and  arrows.  And  they  filled  with  such 
20  consternation  our  people,  [because  they  were]  in  the 
boats  whose  anchors  were  made  fast  to  the  shore,  that, 
owing  to  the  numerous  arrows  which  they  shot  into  our 
boats,  nobody  thought  of  laying  hand  on  his  weapons. 
Yet  we  did  discharge  at  them  four  mortar  shots,  and 
25  they  did  not  hit  [anyone] ; only,  when  the  report  [of 
these]  was  heard,  all  took  flight  toward  the  hill  where 
the  women  were  already  cutting  the  Christian  to  pieces. 
And  by  a great  fire  which  they  had  built  they  were  roast- 
ing him  before  our  eyes,  exhibiting  to  us  many  pieces, 
30  (fol.  21  r,  M)  and  eating  them.  And  the  men  kept  show- 
ing us  by  their  gestures  how  they  had  killed  and  eaten 
the  two  other  Christians,  which  grieved  us  exceedingly. 
[And  we  believed  it  of  them]  when  we  saw  with  our 
own  eyes  the  cruelty  which  they  were  practising  upon  the 


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murdered  man ; it  was  an  intolerable  insult  to  every  one  of 
us.  (fol.  i4r,  P)  And  when  more  than  40  of  us  were 
resolved  to  jump  ashore  and  avenge  a death  so  cruel,  a 
bestial  and  inhuman  act,  the  admiral  would  not  give  his 
consent;  and  they  remained  with  impunity  after  such  an  5 
affront.  And  we  left  them  with  ill-will,  and  with  much 
shame  to  ourselves  on  our  admiral’s  account.  We  left  this 
spot,  and  began  our  sailing  between  east  and  west,  that  is 
south-east,  for  thus  the  land  trended.  And  we  made 
many  stops,  but  never  found  people  willing  to  hold  con-  10 
verse  with  us.  And  thus  we  sailed  until  we  found  that  the 
land  made  a turn  toward  the  south-west.  After  we  had 
rounded  a cape,  to  which  we  gave  the  name  of  Cape  St. 
Augustine,  we  began  to  sail  to  the  south-west.  And  this 
cape  is  [full]  1 50  leagues  distant  to  the  east  from  the  first  15 
land  which  we  saw,  where  they  murdered  [our]  Chris- 
tians. And  this  cape  is  eight  degrees  beyond  the  equator 
to  the  south.  And  while  sailing,  we  one  day  sighted  many 
people  standing  on  the  beach  to  see  the  miracle  of  our 
ships  and  how  we  sailed.  We  went  toward  them,  anchored  20 
(fol.  21  v,  M)  in  a good  spot,  put  ashore  in  the  boats,  and 
found  the  people  better  natured  than  the  previous  ones. 
And  although  it  required  an  effort  on  our  part  to  win 
their  confidence,  nevertheless  we  made  friends  of  them, 
and  traded  with  them.  We  stayed  in  this  place  five  days  25 
and  here  we  found  canna  fistola,  very  thick  [and  green,] 
[and  likewise  some  that  wfltf]  dry  on  the  tree-tops.  We 
decided  to  take  away  a couple  of  men  from  this  place 
that  they  might  teach  us  the  language ; and  three  came  of 
their  own  free  will  to  make  the  journey  to  Portugal.  30 
And  because  [I  am]  already  wearied  of  writing  so  much, 
Your  Magnificence  must  know  that  we  left  this  harbor, 
ever  sailing  to  the  south-west  in  view  of  land,  continually 
making  frequent  stops,  and  talking  with  numerous  people. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  37 


And  we  went  so  far  to  the  south  that  we  were  already 
beyond  the  Tropic  of  Capricorn  at  a place  where  the 
South  Pole  rose  32  degrees  above  our  horizon.  Already 
we  had  utterly  lost  the  Ursa  Minor,  and  the  Ursa  Major 
5 stood  over  us  very  low,  and  showed  [itself]  to  us  almost 
at  the  horizon’s  edge.  We  guided  ourselves  by  the  stars 
of  that  other,  [southern  pole,  which  are  many,  far  larger 
and  more  lucent  than  those  of  this  pole  of  ours.  I drew 
the  figuration]  of  the  greater  number  of  these,  and  es- 
10  pecially  of  those  of  the  first  and  greatest  magnitude, 
together  with  the  calculation  of  the  orbits  which  they 
make  around  the  South  Pole,  and  also  the  computation 
of  their  diameters  and  radii,  as  you  will  be  able  to  see  in 
my  Four  Journeys.  We  traversed  about  750  leagues  of 
15  this  coast,  150  from  the  aforementioned  Cape  St.  Augus- 
tine (fol.  14V,  P)  to  the  west,  600  (fol.  22 r,  M)  to  the 
south-west.  If  I wanted  to  relate  the  things  I saw  on 
this  voyage  and  what  we  underwent,  as  many  pages 
again  would  not  suffice  me.  On  this  coast  we  saw  noth- 
20  ing  of  value  except  infinite  brazil  trees  and  [many]  cas- 
sia [trees],  and  those  which  produce  gum,  and  [so  many] 
other  marvels  of  nature  that  I am  unable  to  recount 
them.  And  having  already  been  full  ten  months  on  this 
voyage,  and  seeing  that  in  this  land  we  found  no  mineral 
25  wealth  whatever,  we  resolved  [to]  take  leave  of  it  and 
be  off  to  encounter  the  sea  in  some  other  direction.  And 
having  held  our  council,  it  was  decided  that  we  should 
follow  that  course  which  might  seem  well  to  me;  and 
the  whole  direction  of  the  fleet  was  entrusted  to  me. 
30  Straightway  I ordered  the  whole  fleet  and  company  to  be 
provided  with  water  and  wood  for  six  months,  for  so 
long  the  ships’  officers  calculated  that  they  could  cruise 
in  them.  Having  taken  on  [all]  our  stock,  [we  set  sail] 
from  this  land,  and  began  our  sailing  on  a south-eastern 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  38 


course.  This  was  on  the  13th  day  of  February,  when  al- 
ready the  sun  was  gradually  approaching  the  equinox,  and 
was  returning  to  this  our  northern  hemisphere.  And  we 
sailed  on  this  course  until  we  found  ourselves  at  such  an 
altitude  that  the  South  Pole  had  an  elevation  of  full  52 
degrees  above  our  horizon,  and  we  no  longer  saw  the 
stars  of  either  the  Ursa  Minor  or  the  Ursa  Major.  And 
we  were  already  distant  from  the  harbor  whence  we  set 
forth  full  500  leagues  (fol.  22v,  M)  on  a south-eastern 
course;  and  this  was  the  third  [day]  of  April.  And  on 
this  day  there  began  so  violent  a sea-tempest  that  it  made 
us  lower  sail  altogether;  and  we  ran  on  with  bare  mast 
in  a violent  wind  which  came  from  the  south-west  bring- 
ing with  it  huge  seas,  and  the  wind  was  very  violent. 
Such  was  the  tempest  that  the  whole  fleet  stood  in  much 
fear.  The  nights  were  very  long;  for  we  had  a night  on 
the  seventh  day  of  April  which  was  of  1 5 hours ; because 
the  sun  was  at  the  end  of  Aries,  and  in  this  region  it  was 
winter,  as  Your  Magnificence  may  well  be  aware.  And 
while  going  along  in  this  tempest,  on  the  seventh  day  of 
April  we  sighted  new  land,  about  20  leagues  of  which  we 
skirted;  and  we  found  it  all  barren  coast;  and  we  saw  in 
it  neither  harbor  nor  inhabitants.  I believe  this  was  be- 
cause the  cold  was  so  great  that  nobody  in  the  fleet  could 
withstand  or  endure  it.  So,  seeing  ourselves  in  such  peril, 
and  in  such  a tempest  that  scarcely  could  we  see  one  ship 
from  the  other,  on  account  of  the  high  seas  which  were 
running  and  the  excessive  thickness  of  the  weather,  we 
arranged  with  the  admiral  to  signal  the  fleet  to  put  about, 
and  that  we  should  leave  the  land  and  turn  our  course 
toward  Portugal.  And  it  was  a very  good  resolution,  for 
certain  it  is  that  if  we  had  lingered  that  night,  we  should 
all  have  been  lost;  because,  when  we  turned  our  stem, 
both  that  (fol.  I5r,  P)  night  and  the  next  day  the  tempest 


5 

10 

15 

20 

25 

30 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  39 


so  increased  in  violence  that  we  feared  for  our  lives.  We 
had  to  make  pilgrimages  and  (fol.  2$r,  M)  other  cere- 
monies, as  is  the  custom  of  sailors  at  such  times.  We  ran 
along  five  days  [before  the  wind  with  only  the  foresail 
5 set,  and  this  well  reefed,  so  that  we  may  have  covered  250 
leagues  in  these  five  days;]  and  we  kept  constantly  ap- 
proaching the  equator  and  more  temperate  winds  and 
seas.  It  pleased  God  to  save  us  from  peril  so  great.  Our 
course  lay  between  the  north  and  north-east,  because  our 
10  intention  was  to  go  and  seek  the  coast  of  Ethiopia,  from 
which  we  were  1,300  leagues  distant  over  the  expanse  of 
the  Atlantic  Sea.  And  by  the  grace  of  God,  on  the  10th 
of  May,  we  came  to  a coast-land,  toward  the  southern 
part  of  it  called  Sierra  Leone.  There  we  stayed  15  days, 
15  taking  our  ease ; and  thence  we  departed,  setting  our  course 
for  the  Azores  Isles  which  are  distant  from  this  part  of 
Sierra  Leone  about  750  leagues.  We  reached  the  islands 
at  the  end  of  July.  There  we  remained  15  days  more, 
taking  some  repose;  and  we  left  them  for  Lisbon  from 
20  which  we  were  300  leagues  to  the  west.  And  we  entered 
[this  port  of  Lisbon  on  the  seventh  day  of  September,' 
1502,  safe  and  sound,]  thanks  be  to  God,  with  only  two 
ships ; because  we  burned  the  other  at  Sierra  Leone,  for  it 
could  no  longer  navigate.  We  were  about  16  months  on 
25  this  voyage,  and  1 1 of  them  we  sailed  without  seeing  the 
North  Star  or  the  Ursa  Major  or  Minor,  which  they  call 
the  Horn.  And  we  guided  ourselves  by  the  stars  of 
the  other  pole.  This  is  all  that  I saw  on  this  [third] 
voyage  or  journey. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  40 


FOURTH  VOYAGE 

(fols.  15V,  P;  23V,  M)  It  remains  for  me  to  relate  the 
things  I saw  on  my  fourth  voyage  or  journey;  and  inas- 
much as  I am  already  wearied,  and  likewise  because  this 
fourth  voyage  did  not  result  as  I had  intended,  owing  to 
an  accident  which  befell  us  on  the  expanse  of  the  Atlantic  5 
sea,  as  Your  Magnificence  will  soon  learn  in  what  follows, 

I shall  strive  to  be  brief.  We  departed  from  this  port  of 
Lisbon,  six  consort  ships,  intending  to  go  in  quest  of  an 
island  toward  the  east,  called  Melaccha,  of  which  we  have 
information  that  it  is  very  rich  and  that  it  is,  as  it  were,  10 
the  emporium  of  all  the  ships  that  come  from  the  Gangetic 
Sea  and  the  Indian  Sea,  just  as  Cadiz  is  the  port  of  call  of 
all  vessels  passing  from  east  to  west  and  from  west  to 
east,  [as  this  Most  Serene  King  is  informed,]  on  the 
route  to  Calicut.  And  this  Melaccha  is  farther  west  than  15 
Calicut,  and  more  to  the  southward;  because  we  know 
that  it  is  in  a latitude  of  33  degrees  from  the  Antarctic 
Pole.  We  set  forth  on  the  10th  [day]  of  May,  1503,  and 
went  straight  to  the  Cape  Verde  Isles,  where  we  stocked 
ourselves  with  meat  and  took  on  [every]  kind  of  supplies.  20 
There  we  remained  13  days,  and  hence  we  departed  on 
our  voyage,  sailing  on  the  south-eastern  course.  And  as 
our  admiral  was  a very  presumptuous  and  headstrong 
man,  he  wanted  to  put  in  at  Sierra  Leone,  a region  in 
southern  Ethiopia,  without  having  any  occasion,  except  to  25 
make  it  manifest  that  he  was  master  of  six  ships,  contrary 
to  the  desire  of  all  of  us  other  captains.  And  thus  sailing, 
when  we  reached  (fol.  24r,  M)  the  said  land,  so  many  were 
the  storms  which  assailed  us,  and  in  addition  to  them  the 
weather  was  so  adverse,  that,  although  we  were  in  sight  of 
it  for  full  four  days,  the  bad  weather  never  permitted 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  41 


us  to  land,  so  that  we  were  forced  to  return  to  our  true 
course  and  abandon  the  said  Sierra.  We  sailed  [hence] 
to  the  south-south-west,  which  is  a course  between  [the] 
south  and  south-west.  And  when  we  had  sailed  full  300 
5 leagues  over  the  monstrous  [sea],  when  we  were  already 
three  full  degrees  beyond  the  equator  to  the  south,  there 
was  revealed  to  us  a land  which  might  be  distant  there- 
from 12  leagues,  at  which  we  marvelled.  And  we  found 
that  it  was  an  island  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  and  it  was  a 
10  very  high  affair,  and  very  marvellous  in  its  nature;  be- 
cause it  was  only  two  leagues  long  and  one  broad.  In 
this  isle  human  folk  never  existed  or  dwelt;  and  it  was 
Bad  Island  for  all  the  fleet;  because  Your  Magnificence 
must  know  that  owing  to  the  evil  counsel  and  manage- 
15  ment  of  our  admiral,  he  here  lost  his  ship;  because  he 
ran  upon  a reef  [with  it,]  and  it  sprang  aleak  on  the  night 
of  St.  Laurence,  which  is  the  10th  [day]  of  August,  and 
it  sank;  and  nothing  was  saved  from  it  except  the  crew. 
It  was  a ship  of  300  tons  in  which  was  carried  everything 
20  of  chief  importance  pertaining  to  our  fleet.  And  as  the 
whole  fleet  was  toiling  to  save  it,  the  (fol.  i6r,  P)  ad- 
miral ordered  me  to  go  with  the  ship  to  the  said  isle  to 
seek  a good  anchoring-ground  where  all  the  ships  might 
anchor.  And  as  my  boat,  manned  with  nine  of  my 
25  sailors  was  (fol.  24V,  M)  serving  and  aiding  to  lighten 
the  ships,  he  did  not  want  me  to  take  it,  but  to  go  without 
it,  telling  me  that  they  would  return  it  to  me  at  the 
island.  I set  out  from  the  fleet  for  the  island,  as  he 
commanded  [me,]  without  a boat  and  with  less  than  half 
30  of  my  sailors,  and  went  to  the  said  isle  [from  which]  I 
was  about  four  leagues  distant.  There  I found  an  excel- 
lent harbor  where  all  the  ships  might  anchor  very  safely; 
and  there  I awaited  my  admiral  and  the  fleet  for  full 
eight  days,  but  they  never  came.  In  consequence  we  were 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  42 


very  much  displeased,  and  the  crew  who  had  remained 
with  me  in  the  ship  were  so  afraid  that  I could  not  console 
them.  While  in  this  state,  we  saw  on  the  eighth  day  a 
ship  approaching  over  the  sea,  and  out  of  fear  that  they 
could  not  see  us,  we  weighed  our  ship’s  anchor,  and  ad-  5 
vanced  out  to  meet  it,  thinking  that  it  brought  me  my  boat 
and  crew.  And  when  we  came  up  to  her,  after  an  ex- 
change of  salutes,  she  told  us  how  the  flag-ship  had  sunk, 
how  the  crew  had  been  saved,  and  how  my  boat  and  crew 
remained  with  the  fleet  which  had  gone  on  ahead  out  to  10 
sea.  All  this  news  was  as  great  an  affliction  to  us  as  Your 
Magnificence  may  imagine,  to  find  ourselves  1 ,000  leagues 
away  from  Lisbon,  and  on  the  high  sea  and  undermanned. 
Nevertheless  we  faced  fortune,  and  continued  on  our  for- 
ward way.  We  returned  to  the  island,  and  stocked  our-  15 
selves  with  water  and  wood  by  means  of  my  consort’s 
boat.  We  found  this  isle  to  be  uninhabited,  with  many 
living  springs  of  fresh  water,  innumerable  trees,  full  of 
so  many  birds  of  the  sea  and  (fol.  2$r,  M)  land  that  they 
were  without  number.  They  were  so  simple  that  they  let  20 
themselves  be  caught  by  the  hand ; and  we  caught  so  many 
of  them  that  we  loaded  a boat  with  them.  Nobody  saw 
any  animals  other  than  very  big  rats,  two-tailed  lizards, 
and  some  serpents.  When  we  had  taken  on  our  supplies, 
we  departed  by  the  course  which  lies  between  [the]  south  25 
and  south-west,  because  we  had  an  order  from  the  king, 
which  commanded  us  that  any  one  of  the  ships  which 
might  be  lost  from  the  fleet  or  its  admiral  should  go  to  the 
land  that  we  discovered  on  the  last  voyage,  to  a harbor 
which  we  named  Bay  of  All  Saints.  And  God  was  pleased  30 
[to]  grant  us  such  fair  weather  that  in  17  days  we  landed 
there,  although  it  was  full  300  leagues  away  from  the 
island.  There  we  found  neither  our  admiral  nor  any 
other  ship  of  the  fleet.  We  waited  in  that  port  for  full 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Pace  43 


two  months  and  four  days;  and  seeing  that  nothing  re- 
sulted, we  resolved,  (fol.  i6v,  P)  my  consort  and  I,  to 
follow  the  coast.  We  sailed  260  leagues  farther  until  we 
reached  a harbor  where  we  decided  to  build  a fort.  We 
5 did  so,  and  left  in  it  24  Christian  [men]  who  were  aboard 
my  consort,  and  whom  she  had  received  from  the  wrecked 
flag-ship.  In  that  harbor  we  stayed  full  five  months, 
building  the  fort  and  loading  our  ships  with  brazil  wood ; 
for  we  could  not  go  farther,  because  we  had  no  crews 
10  and  I lacked  much  gear.  When  this  was  accom- 
plished, we  decided  (fol.  25V,  M)  to  return  to  Portugal, 
which  was  on  our  course  between  north  and  north-east. 
We  left  the  24  men  who  remained  in  the  fort  [with] 
supplies  for  six  months,  12  mortars,  and  many  other 
15  weapons.  We  pacified  all  the  natives,  of  whom  I have 
made  no  mention  in  this  voyage,  not  because  we  did  not 
see  and  associate  with  countless  natives;  because  full 
30  of  us  men  went  inland  40  leagues,  where  I saw  so 
many  things  that  I refrain  from  telling  them,  reserving 
20  them  for  my  Four  Journeys.  This  land  is  18  degrees 
south  of  the  equator,  and  35  degrees  west  of  the  longi- 
tude of  Lisbon,  as  our  instruments  showed.  And  when 
all  this  was  done,  we  took  leave  of  the  Christians  and 
#>  the  land,  and  set  our  course  at  the  beginning  to  the 
25  north-north-east,  which  is  [the]  course  between  north 
and  north-east,  intending  to  go  straight  on  our  way  to 
this  city  of  Lisbon;  and  in  77  days,  after  much  hardship 
and  danger,  we  entered  this  port  on  the  28th  day  of  June, 
1504,  God  be  praised.  Here  we  were  very  well  received, 
30  and  past  all  belief,  because  the  whole  city  gave  us  up  as 
lost;  for  [all]  the  other  ships  of  the  fleet  had  been  lost 
through  the  pride  and  folly  of  our  admiral ; for  thus  God 
rewards  pride.  And  now  I am  here  in  Lisbon,  and  I know 
not  what  this  Most  Serene  King  will  wish  to  do  with  me, 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  44 


though  I greatly  desire  (fol.  26r,  M)  repose.  The  present 
bearer,  who  is  Benvenuto  di  Domenico  Benvenuti,  will 
tell  Your  Magnificence  of  my  condition,  and  of  some 
things  [which]  are  not  mentioned  through  fear  of  prolix- 
ity; because  he  has  seen  and  heard  them.  May  God  be  5 
pleased ! I have  constantly  condensed  the  letter  as  far  as 
I have  been  able,  and  have  refrained  from  relating  many 
noteworthy  things,  so  as  to  avoid  wordiness.  May  Your 
Magnificence  pardon  me,  whom  I beg  you  to  retain  in  the 
number  of  your  servants,  and  I recommend  to  you  Ser  10 
Antonio  Vespucci,  my  brother,  and  all  my  house.  I cease, 
praying  God  to  increase  the  days  of  [your]  life,  and  to 
exalt  the  condition  of  your  lofty  Republic,  and  the  honor 
of  Your  Magnificence,  etc.  Given  in  Lisbon  on  the  fourth 
day  of  September,  1504.  Your  servant,  Amerigo  Ves-  15 
pucci,  at  Lisbon.  (End  of  fols.  i6v,  P,  and  26r,  M). 


The  Soderini  Letter  Translation 
Page  45 


NOTES 


Page  i — - 

The  title  chosen  is  that  found  in  the  M version.  Neither 
of  the  others  mentions  Soderini.  P has  the  following: 
Lettera  di  Amerigo  Vespucci  delle  isole  nuouamente 
trouate  in  quatro  suoi  viaggi  (Amerigo  Vespucci’s 
Letter  concerning  the  Isles  Recently  Discovered  in  Four 
of  His  Voyages.)  H,  in  addition  to  the  title:  Qvattvor 
Americi  Vesputii  Navigationes  (Four  Voyages  of 
Amerigo  Vespucci),  has  a dedication  to  Rene  of 
Lorraine:  Illustrissimo  Renato,  Iherusalem  & Siciliae 
Regi,  duci  Lothoringiae  ac  Barii. 

Line  2.  The  reading  usada  sauidoria  (P)  is  corrupt. 
I follow  M : usata  usadia. 

1.  7.  P omits  trauagliosi ; supported  by  H : arduis. 

1.  9.  M : otioso ; H ; otiosus ; P : perotioso. 

1.  10.  scriuere  (P)  ; scriuermi  (M). 

1.  10  M:  nec  etiam  diletteuoli;  P:  ne  dilecteuoli. 

1.  13.  M:  Ma  la  confidanza  che;  P:  Ma  la  confidentia 
mia  che. 

1.  15.  M : che  son  cose  che  non;  P : che  son  cose  non. 

1.  16.  M omits:  ne  per  moderni.  The  P reading  is 
confirmed  by  H. 

1.  18.  M:  mi  mosse;  H:  Movit  me;  P omits  mi. 

1.  19.  P:  ruogho;  M:  volgo,  a misunderstanding  of 
the  Spanish  word. 

1.  21.  P:  che  si  dimostra;  M:  che  dimostra. 

1.  27.  M : dell’  Alto  Re ; H : incliti  Regis ; P omits : 
alto. 

Page  2 — 

1.  8.  M : andauamo ; P : andando. 

1.  11.  P omits:  mio  zio.  H:  avunculi  mei. 

1.  12.  M omits  che  (for);  H confirms  P:  ut. 

1.  13.  P : da  quel ; M : che  quel. 

1.  22.  P : siconstuma  dare ; M : si  costuma  di  dare. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  46 


1.  25.  M omits : questa  mia  lettera.  H confirms  P : 
hisce  meis  litteris. 

1.  26.  P:dalla;M:  della. 

1.  27.  M and  H here  agree  against  P in  the  sentence 
division. 

1.  30.  M omits : come.  H : quod. 

1.  34.  M : permutaua ; P : promutaua. 

Page  3— 

1.  1.  M:  tene  all’  huomo;  P:  tiene  lhuomo.  The 
construction  of  M here  appears  Spanish. 

1.  6.  P : mercantia ; M : mercatantia. 

1.  14.  M:  addi  x di  Maggio;  P:  adi  16  di  maggio; 
H : vigessima  die  Maii.  It  is  difficult  to  determine  which 
of  these  three  readings  to  accept. 

1.  20.  P : non  n’hebbono ; M : non  hebbono ; H : talium. 
1.  23.  H : erroneously  reads : duodevigessimo  capite. 

1.  32.  Both  P and  M read : 27^  degrees.  I follow  the 
reading  of  H because  it  is  more  in  accord  with  fact. 
Page  4— 

1.  2.  M : doue  ci  prouedemo  d’acqua,  etc. ; H : 

Ubi  nobis  de  lignis  . . . providendo;  P : prouedendoci 
dacqua. 

1.  6.  H : viginti  septem  vix  elapsis  diebus.  The  choice 
between  the  two  readings  is  uncertain. 

1.  7.  M : tenere  ad  una  terra ; P : tenere  una  terra. 

1.  18.  mostrorono;  M:  monstrono. 

1.  19.  M : per  che  ci  uedeuono  et  di  altra  effigie  che 
non  es  loro ; P : per  che  ciuiddono  uestiti,  & daltra 
statura;  H:  quod  vestjitos,  alteriusque  effigiei,  quam 
forent  nos  esse  intuiti  sunt.  H alone  is  complete. 

1.  26.  P : a cercare  dalcun ; M : attrouare  alibuno  (sic)  ; 
H confirms  P. 

1.  29.  P : sicorreua ; M : ci  correua. 

M : di  continuo  ueggendo ; H : continue  percipiendo ; 
P : di  continuo  uiaggio  ueggendo. 

1.  30.  M : di  poi  di  nauicati ; P : di  poi  nauigati. 

Page  5— 

1.  2.  non  potauamo ; M : non  poteuono. 

1.  5.  M : conte  christalline ; H : certos  (sic)  cristallinos ; 
P:  cente  (sic)  spalline  (sic). 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  47 


1.  6.  P : si  assicurorono ; M : si  assicurassino. 

1.  1 6.  M lacks:  a riceuere.  The  omission  is  indicated 
by  a blank  space. 

Page  6 — 

1.  i.  M lacks:  crescere.  Again  the  scribe  has 

left  a blank  space. 

M omits:  ne. 

1.  2.  P omits:  nessuna. 

1.  5.  M : dell’  andare.  The  reading  of  P is  preferable: 
nello  andare. 

1.  6.  P : che  non  tiene  in  conto ; M : che  non  tiene 
conto. 

1.  8.  M : a noi ; P : da  noi. 

1.  9.  P : credere;  M:  creatura  (sic). 

1.  15.  P:  arsicciato;  M:  arsunato. 

1.  25.  P:  leuon  lor  drieto;  M:  lieuimi  dreto. 

1.  27.  M:  lo;  P:  le. 

M : acostumano ; P : costumano. 

1.  29.  P:  non  e;  M:  non  sono. 

1.  30.  P lacks:  nessuna. 

1.  32.  M omits : e suta  infra  loro : et  domandati  perche 
guerreggiauano,  non  cisapeuono  dare  altra  ragione  se 
non  che  lo  faceuon  per  uendicare  la  morte  de  loro  ante- 
passati.  H confirms  this  passage  which  is  not  an 
interpolation  in  P. 

Page  7' — 

1.  4.  P:  e che;  M:  et  (sic)  che. 

1.  5.  M omits : loro,  after  morto. 

1.  11.  P:  mai  uedemmo  far  questione;  H:  conquaes- 
tionari  nonnumquam  vidimus ; M : mai  costumano  . . 
far  questione.  H proves  P to  be  right. 

1.  14.  P:  cuple  for  Sp.  cumple;  M:  cimiple  (sic); 
Lacking  in  H. 

P : parlano ; M : parlam. 

1.  16.  P:  o nel  palato;  M:  et  (sic)  nel  palato. 

1.  26.  M erroneously  has  ne  before  tengono,  ending 
the  sentence  with  the  latter  word,  and  leaving  what 
follows  without  a verb. 

1.  31.  P omits  after  dolce  dormire:  perche  infinite 
uolte  ci  accadde  dormire.  H : Etenim  cum  in  eisdem 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  48 


eorum  retiaculis  mihi  plurumque  dormitasse  contingerit, 

etc. 

1.  32.  P:  in  epse;  M:  di  (sic)  esse. 

P:  dormauamo;  M:  dormire. 

1.  34.  P : continouar ; M : continuare.  The  reading  is 
wrong  in  both  texts.  I follow  H : frequentissime. 

Page  8 — 

1.  1.  P:  uaziano;  M:  ueggiamo  (sic).  M has  garbled 
the  Spanish  word  as  H proves. 

1.  4.  P omits : si  li  huomini  come  le  donne ; H : tarn 
mares  quam  foeminae. 

1.  5.  P:  lasciano;  M:  lasciauano.  It  is  impossible  to 
decide  between  the  two  readings. 

1.  16.  M : contentare;  H : satisfaciant ; P : contar  (sic). 

1.  30.  P : incuoprono ; M : coprono. 

1.  31.  P:  quella  parte  ad  che;  M:  omits:  ad. 

P : prouidde ; M : prouide. 

1.  32.  P:  che  e;  M:  che  se  (sic). 

1.  33.  M omits:  delle  loro  uergogne;  confirmed  by  H. 

1.  34.  P : mostrare ; M : el  mostrare. 

Page  9— 

1.  5.  M omits : di  before  congiugnersi. 

1.  6.  P : gente ; H : gente ; M : genere  (sic). 

1.  10.  P omits : nessuna. 

1.  14.  M:  dalle  and  da;  P:  delle  and  de. 

1.  15.  M omits:  & lungheza;  H has  simply:  tarn 
magnae. 

1.  16.  M omits:  & populatione  uedemmo  soli  di  tredici 
case,  doue  stauano  quattro  mila  anime;  H shows  that 
something  has  been  omitted  in  M,  but  the  corresponding 
passage  differs  materially  from  the  P reading:  Inter 
quas  octo  populosissimas  esse  comperimus,  sic  ut  in  eis 
essent  habitarentque  pariter  animarum  decern  millia. 

1.  18.  P:  octo  in  dieci;  M:  18  in  20;  H:  Octennio 
quolibet  aut  septennio. 

1.  19.  P omits:  sit  poneuano  a tanto  trauaglio,  ci 
lisposono  una  naturale  risposta.  Dissono  che.  . . ; H: 
qui  eius  rei  causam  interrogati,  naturale  responsum 
dederunt,  dicentes  quod.  . . 

1.  27.  P:  & daltre;  M:  o daltre. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  49 


1.  28.  M omits : non  before  le  stimiano. 

1.  29.  P omits:  nessuna. 

P : comperano ; M : comprono. 

1.  33.  P : lhabbino ; M : la  abra. 

1.  34.  P:  hauerle;  M:  hautene  (sic). 

Page  10 — 

1.  1.  M omits:  liberali. 

1.  5.  P : e M : et  (sic). 

1.  7.  P:  moza;  M:  mezza  (sic). 

1.  15.  M omits : che. 

1.  17.  M omits:  passo. 

1.  18.  P:  una;  M:  uno  (sic). 

1.  21.  M:  con  che  si  possa;  P lacks:  con. 

1.  22.  H : quatuor  aut  circiter  dies. 

1.  25.  P;  riceuono;  H.  suscipiunt;  M:  ritrouono. 

1.  30.  P : dalle ; M : delle. 

1.  31.  M omits  uolte. 

Page  11 — 

1.  1.  P:  faccendolo;  M omits  lo. 

1.  11.  M:  radici  et  herbe;  P:  radici  di  herbe. 

1.  13.  P:  & alloro  comune  uso  & mangiare  usano 
una.  . . ; M : et  e loro  comune  mangiare  solo  una.  . . H : 
Communis  vero  eorum  pastus  sive  victus  arborea  radix 
quaedem  est. 

1.  16.  M:  Carabi;  P:  Cazabi;  H:  Cambi. 

1.  17.  P:  saluo  che;  M:  saluo  se  non. 

1.  20.  M omits : loro ; H : suos. 

1.  24.  P:  marauigliorono ; M:  marauigliono. 

1.  28.  P omits : mia ; H : meis. 

1.  31.  M:  relatato;  P:  relato. 

1.  32.  M : uiste  per  me ; H : rerum  a me  visarum ; P : 
che  io  uiddi. 

1.  34.  P:  sapore;  M:  sapere  (sic). 

Page  12 — 

1.  4.  uerremo  ad ; M : uerrano. 

1.  1 6.  M:  fumo  a tenere  in  un  porto;  P:  fummo  a 
tenere  uno  porto. 

1.  19.  M:  fumo  a entrare  in  un  porto;  H:  portum 
quamprimum  introgressi  fuimus;  P:  Fumo  aterra  in  un 
porto. 

1.  20.  M and  H:  xx;  P:  44. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  50 


1.  25.  P:  disubito;  M:  in  un  subito. 

1.  28.  M : xii  canoe ; H : duodecim  . . . lintres ; P : 
22  Canoe. 

1.  29.  M : le  quali ; P : equali. 

1.  31.  P : & si  tennon  larghi ; M : si  che  tennono  larghi ; 
H : ac  sese,  etc. 

1.  34.  P : & non  ci  aspectorono ; M : ma  non  ci  as- 
pettorno. 

Page  13— 

1.  5.  P:  seco;  M:  con  loro. 

1.  7.  M omits:  quanto  before  puo. 

1.  8.  P : battelli ; M : barchi. 

1.  10.  P:  uedemmo  uenire;  M:  uenimo  (sic)  uenire. 

1.  11.  P:  dalle;  M:  delle. 

1.  14.  P:  simostrorono ; M:  si  mostro. 

M omits:  certe  and  uecchie. 

1.  1 6.  M omits:  per  before  il  che. 

1.  18.  P:  tenauamo ; M : teneuono. 

1.  19.  P:  almare;  M:  allijare  (sic). 

1.  22.  M:  di  basso  dell’  acqua;  P:  di  basso  nellacqua. 

1.  25.  P:  sozobramo;  M:  sotto  braccio  (sic). 

1.  27.  M : stragio ; P : istragho. 

P omits:  in  loro. 

1.  28.  P : dismanparate ; M : . . . parate.  The  scribe, 
not  comprehending  the  Spanish  word,  indicated  the 
omission^  of  the  first  two  syllables  by  leaving  a blank 
space. 

1.  30.  M : 15  o 20;  P : 14  o 20;  H : viginti  vel  circiter. 

1.  31.  M omits:  restoron. 

P : furon ; M : fumo. 

1.  33.  P and  M : dua  huomini ; H : viros  tres.  H is 
clearly  correct. 

1.  34.  P : altro  che  due  uecchie ; H : nisi  vetulas ; M *. 
salue  che  due  uedue. 

Page  14— 

1.  4.  P : fumoci ; M : fumo. 

1.  7.  M : con  la  notte  uegnente ; P : & la  nocte  uegnente. 

1.  10.  P:  Andammo;  M:  andando. 

1.  11.  P:  discosto  da  questa;  M:  discosto  a questa. 

1.  13.  P:  dififerente;  H:  diversam;  M:  difTerentiata. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  51 


1.  1 6.  P:  giunti  con  terra;  M:  giunti  in  terra. 

1.  1 8.  P omits:  ogni. 

M : cosa ; P : cose. 

1.  2i.  M:  adonde  stauono;  P:  due  (sic)  stauano. 

1.  26.  M:  andando;  H:  Nobis  . . . progredientibus ; 
P : Andammo. 

1.  27.  M omits:  case  ouero. 

1.  29.  P : muso ; M : musolo. 

1.  31.  P:  eron ; M : tremo. 

1.  32.  M omits : non  before  ardiua. 

P and  M:  torne  (Possibly  a mistake  for  toc- 
carne) ; H:  contingere. 

1.  33.  P : di  uno ; M : come  uno. 

Page  15— 

1.  7.  M : nel  mare ; H : in  mari ; P : del  mare. 

1.  8.  P omits:  et  di  poi. 

M omits : ne,  in  fame. 

1.  10.  P:  li;  M:  lo. 

1.  13.  M:  largha  a raccontarle;  P omits:  a. 

1.  14.  P:  riueniua;  H:  redirent;  M:  ueneua. 

1.  17.  M : lasciamo  loro  in  queste  trabacche ; H : in 
eisdem  eorum  tentoriis ; P : lassamo  loro  nelle  trabacche. 
1.  20.  P : come  uenisse  eldi ; M : come  peruenissi  el  di. 
1.  23.  P omits : et  cominciorno ; H : coeperunt. 

P : domandauamo ; M : comandauono. 

1.  24.  P : mostrandosi ; M : mostrandoci. 

1.  25.  P omits:  non.  H confirms  M. 

1.  27.  P : habitationi  & populationi ; M : lacks  the  first 
two  words,  and  H confirms  M. 

1.  28.  P : simisseno ; M : si  mossono. 

1.  29.  M : che ; H : qui ; P : perche. 

1.  31.  M and  H:  23;  P:  28. 

1.  33.  P omits : come  buoni ; H : strenue  mori. 

1.  34.  P : di  poi  che  fumo  stati ; M : di  poi  d’essere 
stato. 

M omits : quasi. 

Page  16 — 

1.  3.  M omits : non  eron  piu  che. 

1.  5.  M omits:  le. 

1.  13.  P:  adaltre;  M:  all’  altre. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  52 


1.  2i.  P:  tornarcene;  M:  tornare. 

1.  23.  P:  & se  alcuno;  M:  et  quando  alcuni. 

1.  25.  P:  discansatamente ; M:  discretamente ; H: 

studiosissime. 

1.  30.  M : delle  loro  Rete ; P : nelle  loro  reti. 

1.  32.  M omits:  con  loro. 

Page  1 7 — 

1.  2.  M:  al  mare;  P:  a mare. 

M : venuto  a nostri ; P : uenuto  nostri. 

1.  4.  che  ci  annegauono  e battelli ; H : ut  nostri  idem 
phaseli  pene  prae  pondere  submergerentur ; P : ch’ 
cimarauigliauamo. 

1.  17.  P:  quella  gente;  H:  gens  ilia;  M:  qui  la  (sic). 

1.  18.  P:  cenepentimo  di  tal  facto;  M:  ci  ripentimmo 
del  fatto. 

1.  22.  P:  sipartiron;  M:  partitisi. 

1.  30.  P:  le;  M:  la. 

P:  intitulo;  M:  intitulato. 

1.  31.  P:  opera;  M.  operetta. 

P : sicontiene ; M : si  contienono. 

1.  32.  P : senedata ; M : se  data. 

M omits:  copia. 

1.  34.  M : d’infiniti  animali ; H confirms  M ; P : dinfiniti 
fiumi,  animali. 

P omits : e molto. 

Page  18 — 

1.  1.  P:  Lonze;  M:  onze. 

M:  daini;  P:  danii. 

1.  2.  M : etiam ; P : ancora. 

1.  3.  P:  peculioso:  M:  peculio. 

1.  7.  M : Che  diremo  dell’  vccelli ; P : Che  diremo 
daltriuccelli. 

1.  13.  M:  del  tutto;  P:  altucto. 

1.  14.  M omits:  giuntamente  o di  basso  del  pararello 
che  descriue  el  tropico  di  Cancer  doue  alza ; H : confirms 
this  passage  in  P. 

1.  17.  M:  dair ; P:  dello. 

1.  20.  M : di  donde ; P : donde. 

1.  21.  P : dal ; M : del. 

1.  22.  M omits : terra ; H : tellure. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  53 


1.  24.  M omits : ci ; H has  a different  reading : se  . . . 
vocantes. 

H : charaibi ; M : caraijbi ; P : carabi. 

1.  26.  M and  H:  Parias;  P:  Lariab. 

1.  30.  P : ma ; H : sed ; M : et. 

1.  32.  P:  Erauamo  gia  stati;  M:  et  di  gia  che 
erauamo ; H : quia. 

Page  19 — 

1.  3.  P:  brearle;  M:  britarle  (sic). 

1.  11.  H:  exoneravimus ; M and  P:  alloggiate,  prob- 
ably an  error  for  alleggiate. 

1.  12.  P:  tiramo;  M:  ritaramo. 

1.  15.  M and  P:  gustamo,  ghustammo;  H:  con- 
sumpsimus.  H indicates  that  the  reading  is  probably  a 
corruption  of  gastamo. 

1.  22.  M has  che  before  con. 

1.  24.  P : leuauan ; H.  ducerent ; M : leuano. 

1.  30.  M omits:  restoron  molto. 

1.  31.  M omits:  di,  before  uenire. 

1.  34.  P:  poi;  M:  di  poi. 

Page  20 — 

1.  1 . P : a loro  terra ; M : ^lla  terra. 

1.  4.  M : nauicamo ; H : navigamimus ; P : nauigando. 
1.  9.  M : yti ; H : Ity. 

1.  16.  P:  di  modo;  M:  a modo. 

1.  17.  M : tirare ; P : trarre. 

1.  19.  P omits:  et  cominciorono. 

1.  20.  P:  saltassimo ; M : ci  assaltassino  (sic). 

1.  23.  M:  ueniuono;  H:  venerant;  P:  erano. 

1.  25.  P:  diuoler;  M:  che  uoleuono. 

P : perseueroron ; M : proporono. 

1.  27.  P : sentirono ; M : sentissino. 

1.  28.  P : uidono ; M : uedessino. 

1.  29.  M : ritrasseno ; P : trasseno. 

P : per  onde : M : pero. 

1.  33.  M : leuauamo ; P : leuammo. 

Page  21 — 

1.  1 . P : ne : M : et. 

M : di  loro ; P : et  loro. 

P : feriron ; M : feriuono. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  54 


1.  3-  M : ne  a tiro;  P : non  altiro. 

1.  4.  P:  al  tiro;  M:  al  fine. 

1.  9.  M : andar  loro  dreto ; P : dare  loro  drieto. 

1.  18.  P:  nimicitia;  M:  inimista. 

1.  29.  P:  drieto;  M:  dritto. 

1.  30.  P : hauendo  preso ; M : et  pigliamo. 

M and  P:  250;  H:  25.  In  both  cases. 

Page  22 — 

1.  2.  P:  Canoe;  M:  cimea  (sic). 

1.  7.  M and  P:  1498;  H:  1499  (sic). 

1.  9.  M:  nostro;  H:  nostra;  P:  mio. 

M omits : primo ; P confirmed  by  H : priore. 

P : Finisce  elprimo  Viaggio.  Comincia  elsecondo. 
Page  23— 

1.  2.  M:  questo;  P:  quello. 

1.  4.  P:  16;  M:io;  H:  date  omitted. 

1.  5.  H:  1489  (sic). 

P:  adiritti;  M:  diricto. 

P:  cauo;  M:  caluo  (sic). 

1.  8.  M:  quiui;  P:  qui. 

1.  10.  P : 44 ; M : 50 ; H : xix. 

P : tenere  ad  una ; M : tenere  una. 

1.  11.  P omits:  che. 

1.  13.  P:  sopra  laquale;  M:  sopra  alia  quale. 

1.  17.  P : per  che ; M : che. 

P:  ad  epsa;  M:  a essere  (sic). 

1.  18.  M omits:  di. 

1.  19.  M omits:  tucta  annegata  & piena  di  grandissimi 
fiumi;  P omits:  molto  verde  et  di  grandissimi  Arbori; 
H : Eandem  terram  in  aquis  omnino  submersam,  necnon 
magnis  fluminibus  perfusam  esse  invenimus,  quae  et 
quidem  semet  plurimum  viridem  et  proceras  altissimasque 
arbores  habentem  monstrabat. 

1.  22.  buttato  fuora  nostri  battelli;  H:  solutis  . . . 
phaselis;  P:  buttammo. 

1.  24.  P : grandissimi  fiumi ; M : Arbori  grandissimi. 

P omits : tutta. 

1.  27.  P : traeuono ; M : teneuono. 

1.  28.  M : ponemo ; P : potemo. 

1.  29.  P omits : dair  acque. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  55 


1.  3°-  M omits:  uedemmo  per  efiumi  molti  segnali  di 
come  la  terra  era  populata:  & uisto  che  per  questa;  H, 
too,  supplies  the  omission  in  M. 

Page  24 — 

1.  1.  P:  tornarcene;  M:  tornare. 

1.  2.  P omits:  et  tornatoci  alle  naui;  H seems  to 
confirm  this  passage : quod  et  quidem  f ecimus. 

1.  9.  P:  dallo:  M:  da. 

1.  11.  P omits:  nostra. 

1.  17.  P:  uidrizzammo;  M:  indirizzamo. 

1.  18.  M:  poteuamo;  P:  potauamo  (sic). 

1.  20.  M : dell’  alto  mare ; H : ex  alto  mari ; P : con  alto 
mare. 

1.  26.  M omits:  noi  ci. 

1.  32.  P : carouelletta ; M : carrouetta. 

1.  34.  M omits:  poi. 

Page  25— 

1.  2.  M : trauemo ; P : trouammo. 

1.  6.  M:  una  uolta;  P:  in  (sic)  altra  uolta. 

1.  9.  M and  P : 70;  H : 20. 

1.  14.  P:  dallaltra  terra;  M:  da  altra. 

1.  15.  P:  castrati;  M:  cappati. 

1.  16.  M omits:  uirile. 

1.  18.  H:  abducerent;  M:  cappati;  P:  castrati. 

1.  19.  P omits:  come. 

1.  20.  H : canibali ; P : Camballi ; M : Cambali. 

M : per  che ; P : che. 

1.  28.  P omits:  et  alcuno  specchio  et  li  dicemo  che 
fussi  assicurar  la  gente ; H : nolis,  cymbalis,  ac  speculis 
plerisque  datis  diximus  ei,  ne  propter  nos  caeteri  qui 
aufugerant  expavescerent,  quoniam,  etc. 

1.  30.  P omits:  che,  after  quello. 

1.  31.  M omits:  seco. 

Page  26 — 

1.  6.  P : et ; M : che. 

1.  10.  P:  teneuano;  M:  traeuono. 

1.  15.  P:  in  terra;  M:  intera. 

P : fumo ; M : stemo. 

1.  21.  P:  mirabolani;  M:  marribolani;  H:  myrrhae 
pomis. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  56 


1.  23.  P:  loro;  M.  d’essi. 

1.  27.  P:  sino  aqui;  M:  sin  qui. 

1.  34.  P : copia ; H : quantitatem ; M : cosa. 

P : che  quelle ; M : che  per  quelle. 

Page  27 — 

1.  3.  P : in  che  modo ; M : di  che  modo. 

P : li  trouammo  essere  con  uerita ; M : lo  trouamo 
essere  uerita. 

1.  5.  P : nauicammo ; M : nauicando. 

1.  6.  P:  di  continuo;  M:  del  continuo. 

P : uedauamo  f umalte ; M : si  uedeuono  fiumate. 
M:  o gente;  P:  con  gente. 

1.  11.  P omits:  co’  battelli;  H:  cum  naviculis. 

1.  17.  P:  distaua;  M:  staua  al. 

1.  18.  M:  drento;  P:  dreato  (sic). 

1.  25.  P:  teneua;  H:  tenebant;  M:  traeua. 

1.  26.  P : che ; M : et. 

1.  29.  M : nella  zuccha  della  farina ; H : in  cucurbitam 
farina  repletam;  P:  nella  farina. 

1.  30.  M:  immollando;  P:  immollandolo. 

1.  31.  M omits:  da  tutta  dua  le  bande  delle  ghote, 
infarinandosi  lherba  che  teneuano ; H confirms  the  reading 
of  P. 

1.  34.  P : potauamo ; M : poteuono. 

Page  28 — 

1.  1.  P:  cosi;  M:  tal  cosa. 

1.  2.  P:  uennono;  M:  si  uennono. 

1.  3.  P omits : molto  tempo ; H : longaevam  amicitiam. 
1.  6.  M : ci  ofiferiuono ; H : offerebant ; P : confereuon, 
ci  omitted. 

1.  7.  P : stimammo ; M : tiramo. 

1.  8.  P:  che;  M:  di. 

1.  12.  M:  acqua  di  rugiada;  P omits:  acqua. 

1.  14.  P : empieuonsi ; H : se  implebant ; M : empieuagli. 
1.  15.  M:  buonissima;  P:  optima. 

P : ne ; M : le. 

1.  16.  P : luoghi : M : parti. 

1.  17.  P : nella ; M : la. 

1.  19.  P:  questi;  M:  questo. 

1.  20.  M : per  che ; P : &. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  57 


1.  24.  P : di  quella ; H : ex  qua ; M : quelle. 

M : teneuono ; H : habebant ; P : traeuono. 

1.  25.  M : di  basso  di ; P : di  basso  in. 

1.  26.  P:  credo;  M:  credi;  H:  autumabile  est. 

1.  27.  P omits:  che. 

P:  uipioueua;  M omits:  ui. 

P:  quella;  H:  ilia;  M:  questa. 

1.  29.  P:  largheza;  M:  grandezza. 

M : li ; P : la. 

Page  29 — 

1.  2.  M:  un  di;  P:  indi. 

1.  6.  M : che  giudicamo  che  se ; P : & giudicammo  se. 
1.  7.  P : rispondessino ; M : rispondeuano ; H.  responde- 
bant. 

1.  8.  P : andando ; M : andamo. 

P : in  un ; M : uno. 

1.  9.  P:  & giudicammo;  M:  giudicando. 

1.  10.  M : che  in  essa  non  poteua  stare;  P : non  poteua 
hauere  in  se. 

1.  11.  P:  et  pero  andammo  per  epsa;  M:  l’andare 
(sic). 

1.  14.  M and  P:  dispopolate;  H:  populatae. 

1.  15.  After  solo  M has  the  words:  in  esse  dua,  a 
reading  not  justified  by  either  of  the  other  versions  or 
by  the  sense. 

P : uecchie ; H : vetulas ; M : vedoue. 

1.  23.  P:  Francesco;  M:  francheschino. 

1.  24.  P:  torne;  M:  tor. 

1.  28.  M : f ormosa ; H : delectabile ; P : famosa. 

1.  30.  P : essere ; H : esse ; M : stare. 

1.  31.  P:  tal  gente;  M:  tali  genti. 

1.  32.  M : e gran ; P : con  gran. 

Page  30— 

1.  1.  P:  facemo;  H:  fecimus;  M:  furono. 

1.  3.  P omits:  no  che. 

1.  5.  P:  infino;  M:  fino. 

1.  6.  M : di  salire ; P : del  salire. 

1.  12.  P:  tanto  che;  M:  tanto,  che  omitted. 

1.  19.  M omits:  una. 

1.  20.  M : Chiamamo ; H : appellavimus ; P : Chiamo. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  58 


1.  22.  P omits:  tuttauia. 

1.  26.  P : circha  di ; M : a circa  di. 

P : & tenauamo ; M : per  che  teneuamo. 

1.  29.  M : dell’  isole ; H : a insulis ; P : per  lisole. 

P : infino  aqui ; M : fino  a qui. 

1.  31.  P:  perla  linea;  H:  per  lineam;  M:  della  linea. 
1.  32.  P : qui;  M : quiui. 

Page  31— 

1.  2.  P : racchonciare ; M : ricorre. 

1.  5.  P:  co  quali  ciritenemmo;  M:  aquali  ci  ditenemo. 
1.  8.  M : ualore ; P : ualere. 

1.  9.  M : conte  christalline ; H : christallinosque  non- 
nullos;  P:  conte,  dieci  palle  (sic). 

1.  13.  P:  riscatammo  ostrica  nella  quale  staua;  M : per 
riscattamo  ostrighe  che  in  essa  stauono. 

1.  16.  M:  l’altre;  P:  & altre. 

M omits:  non  le  uedesse. 

1.  19.  M:  non  prestono;  H:  perfecti  non  sunt;  P: 
non  perstanno. 

1.  20 : P : sidamnano  presto ; H : emarcescunt ; M : si 
degno  (sic)  presto. 

1.  21.  M:  drento  dell’ ; drento  nella. 

1.  25.  The  translation  “maravedis”  is  questionable. 
In  M the  reading  is : 6oas  ias/m.  This  is  omitted  in  both 
P and  H. 

1.  27.  P:  Partimoci;  M:  partimo. 

1.  28.  M:  quella;  P:  questa. 

1.  31.  M and  P:  2 mesi  & 17  di;  H:  mensibus  duobus 
et  diebus  totidem. 

1.  34.  P : li  lascio ; M : si  lasciano. 

Page  32— 

1.  3.  M and  P both  read:  di  di  after  Septembre. 
This  is  a corruption  of  donde  or  doue  (H  has  ubi). 

1.  4.  P omits,  fumo  bene  riceuti  con  honore  et  profitto. 
Cosi  forni : H : ubi  cum  honore  profectuque  suscepti 
fuimus.  Et  sic  per  Dei  placitnm  finem  nostra  cepit 
secunda  navigatio.  At  the  end  of  this  voyage  in  the 
P version  occur  the  words : Finito  elsecondo  Viaggio. 
Comincia  el  terzo. 

Page  33^ — 

1.  3.  P : tornare ; H : remeare ; M : tornarle. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  59 


1.  7*  M : Manuel ; P : manouello. 

1.  9.  P:  miuenne;  M:  imiuenner  (sic). 

1.  1 2.  M:  despedi;  P:  expedii. 

1.  16.  P omits:  per  before  Giuliano. 

1.  19.  M omits,  delquale. 

1.  23.  M:  peior;  P:  peggior. 

1.  24.  P:  inanzi;  M:  dinanzi. 

1.  26.  P:  preste;  M:  presto. 

1.  27.  P : e ; M : che. 

1.  28.  P omits:  di. 

1.  30.  P:  10;  H:  decima;  M:  7. 

1.  31.  M:  isole;  H:  insulas;  P:  isola. 

M:  esse;  P:  epsa. 

Page  34— 

1.  2.  P : occidentale ; M : delP  occidente. 

1.  4.  M : parghi ; H : parghos ; P : Parchi. 

1.  5.  P:  Besechicce;  H:  Besilicca;  M:  Belsegline. 

1.  6.  M:  della;  P:  dalla. 

1.  10.  M:  nauicare;  H:  navigandi;  P:  maringare. 

1.  13.  P:  tenere  a una;  M omits:  a. 

1.  14.  M:  distaua  dal;  H:  distaret  a;  P:  staua  nel. 
1.  15.  P:  quelli;  M:  questi. 

1.  21.  P:  &;  H:  ac:  M:  doue. 

M : e di  con  le  nocti ; H : dies  noctibus ; P : el  di 
con  la  nocte. 

1.  22.  P omits*  el. 

1.  24.  M : legha  con  mezzo ; H : leuca  . . . cum  media ; 
P:  meza  legha. 

1.  25.  P omits:  d’essa. 

1.  28.  P omits:  la. 

1.  29.  M : per  lo  che ; P : pero ; H : quemadmodum. 
The  sentence  division  in  P is  erroneous  at  this  point. 

1.  33.  M omits:  terra. 

Page  33— 

1.  1.  M:  tornamo;  P:  ditornammo. 

1.  3.  P:  giorno  di  tornare;  M:  di  tornare. 

P omits : ci. 

1.  5.  P:  omits:  ci. 

1.  22.  M:  per  donde;  P:  per  onde. 

1.  24.  M : ch’  essi ; P : che  si. 

P : uolere  andare ; M omits : uolere. 

The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  60 


I.  25.  M:  drento  in  terra;  P omits:  drento. 

1.  27.  M : che  el  Capitano  che  fu ; P omits : che,  before 
fu. 

1.  31.  P:  preson;  H:  arripuerunt;  M:  preso. 

1.  32.  M : aspettamoli ; P : aspectandoli. 

H : diebus  sex ; M : 8 di ; omitted  in  P. 

Page  36— 

1.  4.  M : Le  quali  uisto  che ; P : & uisto. 

1.  6.  M:  lo  sforzato;  lo  sforzo. 

1.  7.  M:  le;  P:  lo. 

P omits:  miglior. 

1.  14.  per  adrieto;  M:  per  diricto. 

P:  alzato;  M:  alzo  . . . et. 

M:  tal;  P:  tarn. 

1.  17.  M omits:  pe  piedi. 

P:  uerso  la;  M:  alia. 

1.  18.  P omits:  et  comincioron. 

1.  20.  P omits:  per  che  stauono. 

P:  nelli  battelli;  M:  e battelli. 

1.  23.  P:  accertaua;  M:  asertaua. 

1.  25.  P omits:  a nessuno. 

P omits:  d’esse. 

1.  26.  M : a donde ; P : & doue. 

1.  31.  M:  haueuon  morto;  P:  hauer  morti. 

P:  magiatoseli;  M:  mangiandoseli. 

1.  33.  P omits:  Et  lo  credemo  loro;  H:  quibus  . . . 
in  hoc  ipso  credidimus. 

Page  37— 

1.  3.  M:  crudel;  P:  cruda. 

1.  9.  M : che ; P : 

1.  10.  P omits:  non,  after  mai. 

1.  15.  P omits:  ben. 

H : priori ; M : prima ; P : predecta. 

1.  16.  P omits:  c’ ; H:  nostri. 

1.  21.  P:  in  buon;  M:  piu  buon. 

1.  23.  P:  che  ci;  M:  che  non  ci. 

1.  24.  P:  celifacemmo;  M : et  li  facemo. 

1.  26.  P : canna ; M : cagna. 

M omits:  et  uerde. 

1.  28.  M : di  questo  luogo ; P : in  questo  luogo. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  61 


1.  29.  P : uennono  tre  di  loro ; H : nos  ultro  comitati 
sunt;  M:  era  di  loro. 

1.  31.  M:  per  che  di  gia  sto  cansato  di;  P:  per  questo 
digia  cansato  di. 

1.  33.  P:  nauicando;  M:  nauicamo. 

Page  38— 

1.  3.  M:  ci  alzaua;  P:  salzaua. 

P : et  di  gia ; M : che  di  gia. 

1.  5.  P:  ci  simonstraua;  M omits:  si. 

1.  6.  P : reggiauamo ; M : regauono. 

1.  7.  M omits:  del  Meridione:  lequali  sono  molte  & 
molto  maggiori  & piu  lucenti  che  le  di  questo  nostro  polo ; 
H confirms  this  passage. 

1.  12.  M:  fanno;  H:  efficiunt;  P:  faceuano. 

1.  13.  P:  potra  uedere;  H:  inspici  poterit;  M:  uedra. 
1.  14.  M and  P:  750  . . . 1=50;  H:  700  . . . 100. 

1.  15.  P:  dal;  M:  del. 

1.  18.  M:  questo  uiaggio;  H:  dum  peragraremus ; M: 
questa  costa. 

1.  19.  P:  cosa  di;  M:  di  cose  di. 

1.  20.  P omits : molt’  Alberi. 

1.  21.  M:  lanime;  H:  laminas;  P:  myrra. 

P omits:  tant’. 

1.  25.  P:  di  dispedirci;  M:  di  spedire. 

1.  26.  P : andarci ; M : andare. 

P : almare ; M : il  mare. 

1.  30.  P : allhora ; H : confestim ; M : allora. 

1.  33.  P omits:  ogni. 

P omits:  partimo. 

Page  39— 

1.  i.  M:  13  di  febbraro;  H:  Februarii  decima  tertia. ; 
P:  15  di  Febraio. 

1.  2.  P : cercando ; M : acercando. 

1.  4.  M omits:  che,  before  ci  trouamo. 

1.  6.  P:  del;  M:  di. 

1.  7.  P:  della  maggiore  orsa;  M:  alia  orsa  maior. 

1.  8.  M : di  donde ; P : di  doue. 

1.  10.  M omits:  di. 

1.  11.  M:  nel  mare;  P:  in  mare. 

1.  12.  P:  amainare;  M:  amaerar  (sic). 

P:  allarbero  seco;  M:  alber  secco. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  62 


1.  15.  P:  la  flocta;  M:  in  flocta. 

1.  16.  M : Le  nocti ; P : e nocte. 

1.  17.  P : adi  septe  daprile;  M : a 7 dAprile ; H : Aprilis 
secunda. 

1.  22.  M:  trouamo  esser;  P omits:  esser. 

1.  23.  M:  credo  che  per  che;  P:  credo  perche. 

1.  25.  P:  uistoci  in;  M:  uiston. 

1.  33.  P omits:  che  before  tutti. 

Page  40 — 

1.  1.  si  ciricrebbe;  M omits:  ci. 

1.  4.  P omits : a poppa  con  solo  el  trinchetto,  et  questo 
ben  basso,  che  potemo  nauicare  250  leghe  in  questi  5 
di ; H : Sub  quo  tempestatis  infortunio  quinque  naviga- 
vimus  diebus  ducentas  et  quinquaginta  in  mari  penetra- 
vimus  leucas. 

1.  8.  M omits:  in,  before  mare. 

1.  13.  P omits : della  costa. 

1.  15.  M:  rinfresco;  P:  rinfrescamento. 

1.  18.  P : stauamo ; H : eramus ; M : stanno. 

1.  21.  M omits:  per  questo  porto  di  Lisbona  adi  7 di 
Septembre  1502  a buon  saluamento;  confirmed  by  H. 

1.  24.  M : xvi  mesi ; H : sexdecim  circiter  menses ; P : 
15  mesi. 

1.  28.  P omits:  terzo. 

In  the  P version  the  words  Quarto  Viaggio  occur  at 
the  end. 

Page  41— 

1.  8.  M:  discoprire;  P:  scoprire. 

1.  9.  P : uerso ; M : di  uerso. 

P : Melaccha ; M : melatha ; H : Melcha. 

1.  11.  M:  almazzino;  P:  elmagazino. 

1.  13.  P:  da  leuante ; M : dalleuante. 

1.  14.  P omits:  secondo  che  questo  Serenissimo  Re 
tiene  le  nuoue ; H : prout  de  hoc  ipso  per  Calicutiae  viam 
fama  est. 

1.  15.  P:  Galigut;  H:  Calicutia;  M:  Calicur. 

P : Melaccha ; M : melaca ; H : Melcha. 

M : ista ; H : respicit ; P : e. 

1.  16.  P:  Caligut;  H:  Calicutia;  M:  Calicur. 

M:  alia;  H:_ad;  P:  alta  (sic). 

1.  17.  P:  paraggio;  M:  parago. 

The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  63 


1.  1 8.  M omits:  di. 

1.  20.  M:  carnaggio;  P:  caragne. 

P omits:  ogni. 

M:  rimfresco;  P:  rinfrescamento. 

1.  2i.  M and  P:  13;  H:  duodecim. 

1.  26.  P : contro  alia ; M : contro  la. 

Page  42 — 

1.  2.  M : nauicamo ; H : navigamimus ; P : nauicando. 
M omits:  di  qui. 

1.  3.  M:  susuduesta;  P:  suduest  (sic)  ; H:  suduestium 
(sic). 

P:  uento;  H:  ventus;  M:  tanto  (sic). 

P omits:  el. 

1.  5.  P:  monstro;  H:  arctitudinem ; M:  golfo. 

M omits : del  mare. 

1.  7.  P : distare ; H : distabamus ; M : star. 

1.  8.  P:  M:  xii;  H:  duodecim;  P:  22. 

P : dellaquale ; M : delle  quali. 

1.  12.  M:  non  fu  ne  habito;  H:  aut  fuerat  aut  habit- 
averat;  P:  non  fu  habitato. 

1.  1 6.  M omits:  con  epsa. 

1.  17.  M omits:  di. 

1.  25.  P:  & aiuto;  M:  dello  aiuto. 

1.  26.  P:  sine;  M se  in  (sic). 

1.  29.  M omits:  mi. 

1.  30.  P : fui ; M : fu. 

P omits;  dessa. 

Page  43— 

1.  i.  P:  molto;  M:  tutti. 

P:  mal  contend;  M:  maninconosi  (sic). 

M:  la  gente  che  mi  era  resta;  P:le  genti  che 
meran  restate. 

1.  2.  M:  staua;  P:  stauano. 

1.  5.  M:  nostra  naue;  P:  nostre  naui. 

1.  11.  M : tal  nuoua;  H : Quae  nuncia;  P : tormenta. 

1.  25.  M:  partimo;  P:  dipartimo. 

P omits:  el. 

1.  30.  M and  P:  la  badia  (sic);  H:  abbatiam  (sic). 
1.  31.  M omits:  di. 

M omits:  terra  after  tenere. 


The  Soderini  Letter  Notes 
Page  64 


1.  32-  P • distaua ; H : distat ; M : istaua. 

P:  da  M:  dell’. 

Page  44— 

1.  5.  M omits:  huomini. 

M : che  traeua ; P : che  ci  haueua. 

1.  6.  P:  haueua;  M:  hauta  (sic). 

1.  8.  P omits:  in,  before  caricare. 

1.  9.  P : non  tenauamo ; H : non  valebamus ; M : non 
teneuo. 

1.  13.  P:  li;  M:  a. 

M omits:  con. 

1.  17.  M omits:  gente. 

P : infinita  gente  di  epsa;  M : infinita  dessa. 

1.  21.  M:  xxxv ; H:  triginta  quinque;  P:  37. 

M : meridiano ; H : meridianum ; P : manteni- 
mento  (sic). 

1.  22.  M:  dimostrorono ; P:  ch  mostrano  (sic). 

1.  25.  M:  nornordeste;  P:  nornodeste. 

P omits:  el. 

1.  28.  M:  28;  H:  xxviii;  P:  18. 

1.  30.  P:  faceua;  M:  faceuono. 

1.  31.  omits:  tutte,  before  laltre. 

1.  33.  P:  pagha ; M.  porga. 

M omits:  la,  before  superbia. 

1.  34.  M : quel  che ; P : quello. 

Page  45'— 

1.  4.  P omits:  che. 

1.  5.  M:  Dio  sia  contento;  P:  Dio  siaoncli  (sic). 

1.  8.  M : notabili ; P : naturali. 

1.  12.  P omits;  uostra. 

1.  13.  M:  inalzi;  P:  salzi. 

1.  14.  P:  4:  M : x. 


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